[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 113
'The Hercyon of the Serpent Bearer.'
In the Empire, less than a hundred knights were granted Hercyons.
Among them, the Hercyons possessed by the Thirteen Zodiac Knights were special.
Three hundred years ago, the Holy Empire, which had unified the entire central continent, was divided, and the lords and kingdoms of each region asserted their autonomy.
Among them, the Kingdom of Rom claimed to have inherited the legitimacy of the Holy Empire.
The Holy Empire was a religious state centered around the Pope, worshipping the one true god, the Sun God. However, the Kingdom of Rom worshipped the Moon Goddess Teia, who was paired with the Sun God, and the constellations of the thirteen zodiacs that protected her.
The Kingdom of Rom bestowed Hercyons, imbued with the power of the thirteen zodiac constellations, upon their most outstanding knights and fought against the Papal faction.
Due to this power, the Papal faction was pushed to the east of the continent and established the Holy Kingdom, while the Kingdom of Rom expanded its sphere of influence, occupied the southern part of the central continent, and grew into the Empire.
As the activities of the Thirteen Zodiac Knights played a major role in the growth of the Rom Empire, the Hercyons given to them were rare artifacts with tremendous power.
Morgan Bupon approached Zeke, fully armed with the Hercyon of the Serpent Bearer.
“I acknowledge that you're no ordinary man to have activated a Hercyon.”
Woooong!
A dark red aura emanated from the Hercyon of the Serpent Bearer.
Simultaneously, the aura enveloped the sword Morgan was holding.
An ominous yet powerful aura blade surged forth.
Although Morgan was a Blue Knight, when equipped with the Hercyon, he could exert power comparable to a Red Knight.
Zeke was wary of the power emanating from Morgan's sword.
'I sense a strange power in the aura blade.'
It was neither ordinary aura nor a corrupted energy like malice.
Morgan swung his sword and shouted.
“I'll capture you and make you confess who's behind you!”
Emitting an aura with a serpentine energy, Morgan lunged towards Zeke.
Kwa kwa kwa!
Empowered by the Hercyon, Morgan displayed even greater leaping ability.
From mid-air, the aura blade imbued with the power of the Serpent Bearer poured down on Zeke.
Chalaralalalak!
Surprisingly, the aura blade emanating from Morgan's sword curved like a whip and flew towards Zeke.
'What is this?'
Zeke instantly rolled his body to avoid the aura blade.
However, like a living snake chasing its prey, Morgan's aura blade persistently pursued Zeke.
Chaaaak!
Suddenly, the tip of the aura blade split into four, piercing through the shield and coiling around Zeke's limbs.
The aura blade whip dug into the armor.
Udududuk!
Perhaps because it was a whip made of aura blade, he could feel the armor, which was resistant to most impacts, being crushed.
'Is this the power of the Serpent Bearer?'
The Hercyon of the Serpent Bearer, said to be imbued with the power of the constellation, was an even more fearsome artifact than he had heard.
Zeke also had an Ancient Hercyon, but wearing it with the Imperial knights around could reveal his actions in the south.
Zeke concentrated his mana .
Kugu gugu gugu!
Bahamut's Heart within Zeke's body throbbed violently.
Gathering the powerful mana surging from Bahamut's Heart in his ether hall, Zeke invoked the will of strength with the Rear Word Soul Technique.
Woooong!
The will of strength enhanced his physical body into a 'strong body.'
In this state, any technique he used could exert far greater power.
Due to the strong side effects that came with its remarkable effects, he couldn't properly utilize the will of strength in his previous life. But now, with the Word Soul Technique eliminating the side effects, he could use it freely.
As his body became a strong body, Zeke felt much lighter.
He abruptly pulled on Morgan's aura blade that was wrapped around his limbs.
Morgan was pulled by Zeke's strength.
“Kugh! What are you doing! Attack him now!”
Except for the knights dealing with the rampaging Gurab behind them, the other knights charged towards Zeke.
With his limbs bound, Zeke swung his sword at the knights.
Paching!
Zeke's sword, strengthened by his strong body, was no different from a knight's sword infused with aura.
Zeke used the rough northern swordsmanship to deflect the knights' swords.
Kwadddduk!
Seeing the knights who clashed swords with him being thrown back, Morgan tried to further infuse his aura blade with power to restrict Zeke's movements.
But Zeke didn't stop and continued moving.
“Haaaat!”
Zeke's body, strengthened by the Strong Body enhancement, was a weapon itself.
He swung his sword, kicked, and punched at the charging knights.
Bang!
The knight struck by Zeke's fist was sent flying backward.
The Imperial knights were terrified at the sight of Zeke.
“D-damn it, he's a complete monster!”
The Imperial army completely lost their will to fight as they witnessed Zeke fighting off dozens of Imperial knights while still bound by the power of the Serpent Bearer.
There was also the influence of the dragon's majesty subtly emanating from Zeke, who had received the title of Dragon Knight.
As the knights hesitated and backed away, Morgan gritted his teeth and stepped forward.
“Damn it, you fools! Get out of the way!”
He unbuckled the belt that was wrapped around the waist of his Hercyon.
As Morgan infused the belt with aura, it gradually stiffened and transformed into a long spear.
Morgan grabbed the spear and pulled on the whip-like aura blade that was holding Zeke captive.
Chaaaaaak!
The aura blade wrapped around Zeke quickly retracted.
At the same time, Zeke, whose power had weakened, was pulled towards Morgan.
Morgan aimed the spear at Zeke.
“I didn't expect to have to use this.”
The spear, imbued with the power of the Serpent Bearer, held the power to pierce through anything.
He had refrained from using it to capture Zeke alive and find out who was behind him, but as the situation became urgent, he resorted to his trump card.
Woooong!
The same eerie energy as before rose from the spear of the Serpent Bearer that Morgan held.
He thrust the spear towards Zeke, who was being pulled towards him.
The Serpent Bearer's Authority:
Unerring Pierce
It was then.
Zeke activated the Water Barrier.
Elemental Sword
Water Barrier
Reverse Wave Sword
Zeke relaxed his entire body, surrendering to the flow, and then used Morgan's power against him to unleash the Reverse Wave Sword.
Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!
Zeke gently deflected the power of the spear.
Simultaneously, a giant wave surged and engulfed Morgan.
“Kugh!”
The power of the Serpent Bearer that had been binding Zeke now restrained Morgan instead.
His body was lifted into the air, swept away by the force of the Reverse Wave Sword.
Zeke's sword summoned an even larger tsunami.
Woooong!
A wave carrying the energy of a tsunami swept through the entire canyon. The power unleashed by the Reverse Wave Sword was tremendous, amplified by Morgan's own strength.
Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwang!
The knights, caught in the surge, were flung into the air, their limbs broken, and crashed into the canyon walls, losing consciousness.
Seeing figures falling from above, it seemed that the snipers positioned above the canyon were also affected.
Morgan, too, was unable to regain his senses after being directly hit by the powerful force of the tsunami.
He was thrown into the air and then slammed to the ground by the force of the wave, barely managing to get up.
'The Serpent Bearer's spear missed?'
The Serpent Bearer's Authority was different from ordinary secret techniques.
The number of times it could be used in a day was limited, so he had been saving it, but when the Serpent Bearer's Authority was unleashed, it was supposed to pierce the enemy without fail.
This was the first time the constellation's power had failed.
He shuddered as he recalled the Reverse Wave Sword that Zeke had unleashed.
'It was a technique I'd never seen before. Could it be ancient magic contained within an artifact?'
If he hadn't been wearing the Hercyon, he might have been crushed to death as well.
Zeke slowly surveyed his surroundings and approached Morgan.
“You were conducting horrific experiments at the Zoin ruins.”
Morgan's eyes wavered at those words.
Seeing the look in Morgan's eyes, Zeke realized that he too was involved in the human experiments of injecting magical beast blood into humans.
'It's better to kill this guy here.'
In his previous life, Morgan Bupon had killed countless people in the 3rd Continental War.
Morgan had demonstrated greater ability as a commander than as a knight.
Later, his achievements were recognized, and he even rose to the position of Consul.
Killing Morgan here could deal a significant blow to the Empire's forces in many ways.
Zeke slowly approached Bupon.
Then, he raised his sword and struck at Bupon's neck.
Clang!
Perhaps because it was a Hercyon imbued with the power of a constellation, the neck didn't sever despite Zeke's strike.
Zeke used his Mana Reflection skill.
Zzzzt!
Sparks flew from the Hercyon, but the armor didn't deactivate.
'Hercyon, it's great when I'm wearing it, but it's really annoying when it's on the enemy.'
Even when Zeke tried to thrust his sword into the gaps of the Hercyon, it wouldn't reach any vital points.
"Ugh."
If he wasted any more time here, more garrison troops could arrive.
Zeke hastily got one of the fallen horses back on its feet and put Morgan on it.
He planned to kill Morgan once the Hercyon deactivated after some time.
Zeke pulled out the chain from his left arm and bound Morgan with the Soul Sealing Technique.
“Gasp!”
As soon as he was bound by the chains, Morgan couldn't move and gritted his teeth in pain.
'Oh? This works well.'
He hadn't mastered it yet, so he hadn't used it in battle, but it seemed like it would be a useful weapon if he could use it properly.
Zeke, with Morgan on the horse, leisurely escaped the canyon.
He planned to kill Morgan once the Hercyon deactivated and then return to the Alencia Border Headquarters.
After exiting the canyon, Zeke entered the wasteland of red sand.
Then Morgan, who was captured and tied up behind him, shouted.
“You bastard! How dare you touch an Imperial Corps Commander! Aren't you afraid of the consequences?!”
Zeke turned around and elbowed Morgan's helmet.
“Cough!”
With the impact that rattled his skull, Morgan fell silent for a moment.
But he soon started shouting again at the top of his lungs.
'What a pain.'
Just as Zeke was reaffirming his resolve to kill Morgan as soon as the Hercyon deactivated and continued riding through the wasteland, a cloud of dust rose from behind.
Zeke looked back using Dragon Eye.
'Who are those…?'
They were knights in familiar attire.
It was none other than Abel's Red Lion Knights.
Zeke spotted Abel and William among the knights.
'Damn it.'
He hadn't expected Abel to come out in person.
It seemed they came out to investigate after hearing that the entire ruin had collapsed and ended up chasing after him.
Knowing that the pursuers had arrived, Morgan shouted.
“Ha, the Lion Sword has come! You fool! Put me down now and tell me who's behind you! Then I'll kill you painlessly!”
Zeke tightened the chains binding Morgan even more.
“Kaaaagh!”
Perhaps because it was the Soul Sealing Technique, it seemed to inflict pain even through the Hercyon.
Just then, the horse Zeke was riding seemed to tire, and its speed gradually decreased.
'Healing.'
Zeke used a healing buff to restore the horse.
The distance between him and the knights widened again.
At that moment, Abel, who was behind, charged forward alone.
Dududududu!
Abel was chasing close behind Zeke at a tremendous speed.
He drew the crimson sword he was wearing.
As Abel infused the sword with aura, flames erupted.
Hwarururuk!
A huge flame flew towards Zeke.
Whooong!
A shield unfolded from his armor.
But Abel's flames penetrated the shield.
Hieeeing!
The enormous flames incinerated the warhorse Zeke was riding.
In an instant, the horse turned to ash and disappeared.
Zeke landed on the ground, holding onto Morgan.
Abel looked down at Zeke from atop his horse.
"That's him. The one who smuggled Carus away."
Having encountered him at the Phantas terminal, Abel immediately recognized Zeke.
He dismounted and pointed his sword at Zeke.
"You won't escape this time. I'll make sure to find out who's behind you."
Hwarururuk!
Flames erupted from the crimson sword Abel held.
Zeke gritted his teeth at the sight of Abel's flames.
'The Red Dragon Sword. The unique artifact Abel received when he became a Blue Knight.'
The Red Dragon Sword, said to be forged from the tooth of a Red Dragon, was a unique artifact possessing immense power. However, it was difficult to handle and had been kept in the family treasury for a long time.
After Abel was promoted to Blue Knight, he demanded this Red Dragon Sword from Arthur Drake.
It was a cursed sword that would engulf anyone who wasn't qualified to wield it in flames the moment they touched it, but Abel confidently claimed it as his own.
Wielding the flame-spewing Red Dragon Sword, Abel displayed outstanding combat prowess even among the active Drake knights.
The powerful flames Abel unleashed flew towards Zeke.
Kwa kwa kwa kwang!
Zeke activated the will of defense and blocked Abel's attack.
Whooong!
Simultaneously as he blocked the attack, Zeke swung his sword at Abel.
Abel hid himself within the exploding flames.
'Damn it.'
There were too many enemies, and with the restriction of not being able to use Bahamut, it was a difficult situation.
Zeke tried to find a way to create an opening and escape this place.
If he wasted any more time, he could be caught by Abel.
Zeke took a deep breath and gripped his sword.
Abel smirked as he watched Zeke.
"Give up your futile hopes. You'll never escape from here."
Just as Abel was about to unleash flames again,
Dududududu!
Kiyoyoyoyot!
A strange war cry resonated from afar, accompanied by a massive cloud of dust.
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]