Chapter 420 - 415: No One Is Born Strong

Chapter 420: Chapter 415: No One Is Born Strong

"Nnngh... ghhh..."

A great black cloud loomed over the Demons’ heads, and the wind was filled with their shrill, terrifying roars.

"SHING~" "SPURT~"

Black blood rained down, and then the unnatural phenomenon in the sky and the strange sounds from all around came to an abrupt halt.

The "Demon’s" aura dissipated like melting snow.

Zhao Kai collapsed, the Magic Steel Hand Cannons slipping from his grasp. Fos and the others crumpled to the ground like dead dogs, gasping for mouthfuls of fresh air.

The pressure from these dozen or so bizarre and powerful Demons had been no less than that of a protracted battle of life and death.

The battlefield was the epicenter of a large, completely devastated swathe of forest. There were countless splintered trees, gaping fissures in the earth, and massive craters from the impacts.

A single glance was all it took to imagine the intensity of the preceding battle.

Aside from Zhao Kai, who already knew of Hilbert’s potential and was happy for him, the other six newcomers—even the four who had collapsed—were all so excited they wanted to scream.

Still panting heavily, Fos stared dumbfoundedly from Zhao Kai to Hilbert in the distance.

"C-Captain... He’s actually Baron Lion Heart! We were lucky enough to witness the Baron’s awakening with our own eyes! He’s just as terrifyingly strong as they say..."

"Ye-yeah..."

The only female team member still able to move was pinching her thigh hard, trying not to lose her composure.

"Heh, I have a contact at the publishing house..."

Zhao Kai muttered to himself.

In the distance, Hilbert’s body trembled slightly. His newly awakened Magic Power was almost completely drained, and the exhaustion of his physical and mental energy left him feeling faint.

A subtle, steady stream of warmth flowed from the Lion Heart King’s Sword into his body, keeping Hilbert from collapsing after slaying the Demons.

The black Demon blood slid from the blade, leaving it pristine.

In the distance, the Book of Oaths crumbled to dust before his eyes.

Hilbert understood. The book’s sole purpose for existing was to await the moment a scion of the Chakus Clan slew a Demon with their own hands. Now, it had fulfilled its mission.

A joyous smile slowly spread across his face.

’Father, Ancestors... I did it!!!’

VMMMM~~

The very air vibrated with the humming of the Lion Heart King’s Sword.

...

Hilbert and his team departed, carrying their wounded. In the distance, the Holy Spirit and Qin Xiaoxia followed at a leisurely pace, ensuring the newly awakened Baron Lion Heart wouldn’t be cut down by a powerful Demon in his moment of weakness.

The eight Association members up ahead remained vigilant, whether they were mobile or not. Even while carrying the wounded, their superhuman stamina meant they could run at a decent clip, but it was nothing compared to Zhao Kai’s breakneck driving.

Driving would have covered the rest of the distance in just over half an hour. But in their battered state, it took them nearly two hours of running before they finally encountered a British Army patrol and hitched a ride, allowing them to breathe a sigh of relief.

They were now within the perimeter controlled by the main British Army forces. Aerial and ground reconnaissance was dense, and suppressive fire sweeps were frequent. It was safe to say no Demon capable of threatening the eight of them would be found here. Furthermore, with the help of a Vermilion Fruit and a Flower of Life, Hilbert had already recovered some of his strength over the past two hours. They could finally rest easy.

At this point, Qin Xiaoxia and the Holy Spirit stopped and followed them no further.

Watching the convoy recede into the distance, the Holy Spirit stood behind Qin Xiaoxia. The shimmering light in the corners of its eyes and the aura of radiance it emitted showed that it was far from calm.

"Master Sage, you once said that the true Lion Heart King’s Sword was long since lost to the river of history. But after witnessing Baron Chakus’s bloodline awakening, I believe the Lion Heart King’s Sword was never destroyed. It is born of the Chakus Clan—it is a part of their bloodline’s power."

"As long as the Chakus Clan’s bloodline endures, give them a worthy weapon, add their conviction and the spirit of their oath, and the Lion Heart King’s Sword will be reborn!"

Hearing the Holy Spirit’s heartfelt reflection, Qin Xiaoxia was filled with a mix of emotions himself.

’So it was all worth it,’ he thought. ’My time spent playing a talking Demon, pretending to be Kingsmay the Lion Heart King’s Sword acknowledging Hilbert, and even shamelessly making a cameo as a Chakus ancestor to pretentiously lecture their descendant.’

"Indeed. As the Dawn Sage, even I am not omniscient. Perhaps the Lion Heart Sword is merely a symbol of the Chakus Clan’s spirit. As long as a Baron Lion Heart exists, the Lion Heart Sword will surely endure."

The Holy Spirit lowered its head slightly, placing a hand over its heart in a salute to Qin Xiaoxia.

"You are too humble, Master Sage!"

Qin Xiaoxia smiled back at it. The feeling of witnessing a truly deserving hero being forged by his own hands was a rather pleasant one.

’No one is born great!’

Of course, just as important was the advancement of his research into Spiritual Power. Thanks to Hilbert’s awakening, that research had achieved a success far beyond his wildest dreams.

...

Just one day later, with incredible efficiency, the *Association Secret History* was updated with a new Chapter: "Awakening Before the Lion Heart King’s Sword."

Within a few short days, as Association members consulted Magic Patterns and other records, the story spread via word of mouth throughout the entire Dawn Association.

For Hilbert, this was both an honor and a source of pressure. However, compared to the heavy weight he used to carry on his shoulders, he was now confident he could live up to the honorary title.

It had to be said that Zhong Bolun and the editors who wrote the *Association Secret History* were a truly talented bunch. Qin Xiaoxia felt that the "live version" he’d witnessed wasn’t half as exciting as their written account, which somehow still managed to feel "well-reasoned and utterly convincing."

Naturally, this had an incredibly positive and uplifting effect on the entire Dawn Association.

...

Gansu Province, Hua Country R&D Super-Base No. 2.

A large number of elite scientists were gathered here, developing the latest technologies and spearheading Hua Country’s cutting-edge quantum science efforts within the World Alliance.

Although Earth was currently being assailed by the Dark Tide, humanity’s effective response had allowed society to maintain a relatively complete production capacity.

But within the World Alliance, from the Dawn Association to the major world powers, no one dared to lower their guard.

The analysis derived by expert teams combining data from both the current world situation and Dawn was remarkably calm and objective.

The current situation was only stable because humanity wielded the power of technology; in ancient times, the world would have already descended into chaos. Moreover, terrifying entities like the Otherworldly Ancient Demon Jilian had appeared in the past, and there was no guarantee they wouldn’t appear again.

However, thanks to this control over the situation, top research facilities—not only in shelters and super-bases but also in conventional cities—remained largely operational, except in the few zones that were unavoidably lost.

R&D Super-Base No. 2 served as a central hub, coordinating the collective progress of research teams all across Hua Country.

To facilitate this collaborative research, the military fiber optic cables connecting them were restored by the corps of engineers as a top priority, ensuring that disparate research teams remained informed of the overall progress and plans.

At that moment, Huang Jiutian was lying in the back of a jeep, taking up the entire rear seat. In the front sat his direct subordinates: a man and a woman in black military uniforms.

The young woman’s name was Luo Wei. She wore her hair in a trendy, loose-ended fishtail braid that she had draped over her right shoulder to rest on her chest. The one driving was a capable, middle-aged man named Lu Gang.

They were Jiutian’s old subordinates. He wasn’t sure when it started—perhaps when he was promoted to Major General—but that’s when the higher-ups began assigning him personal bodyguards.

Heaven help him, Huang Jiutian knew exactly where he stood on Hua Country’s official Evolver rankings. With the title of the world’s strongest Perception Type, did he really need a bodyguard?

Jiutian knew what the higher-ups were up to. Even Tao Xingzhi had privately teased him, "Well, it’s your own fault for staying single!"

As Hua Country’s only official Magic Awakener and a Model Level figure, Huang Jiutian’s love life was no longer something only his parents worried about.

Scientists at the Special Security Team’s research institute, which had mostly relocated to the super-base, had even gone on record saying that Major General Huang’s genes had an extremely high probability of producing another Evolver.

Luo Wei had long admired the gentle, handsome, understanding, and powerful Captain Huang. Everyone in the Special Security Team knew it. For the higher-ups to appoint her as Huang Jiutian’s personal bodyguard... well, their intentions were painfully obvious.

As the saying goes, when a woman pursues a man, there’s but a thin veil between them. Even Tao Xingzhi wanted to flat-out encourage Luo Wei, "You’ve got to put in the effort, comrade!"

Alright, Jiutian was well aware of the higher-ups’ intentions. But this was the modern age of free love, so nothing was said outright. Thankfully, they hadn’t gone so far as to assign two female special agents as his bodyguards; at least they had the sense to throw Lu Gang into the mix.

The jeep was part of a convoy traveling down a highway. The surrounding land, once a barren Gobi, was now covered in green, with towering trees standing in many places.

This was an escort mission. The large trucks in the middle of the convoy were transporting the monumental fruits of Base No. 2’s research—a cargo so important that Central Command had personally dispatched Huang Jiutian to oversee it.

PS: Second Chapter for Saturday.