C642
Ah...!
The lightning struck where Sigmund and Silus' swords clashed. They showed no signs of backing down, even as they were struck by the lightning from the Sword of the Reign of the King of Legends spewed by the clouds and the blue thunder poured by the Thunder of Retribution.
On the contrary, they advanced towards each other with more ferocity and speed.
The aftermath of their battle now ravaged the entire Garden of Swords.
The storm of their sword energies had spread beyond the graves where the swords of the ancestral guardians were embedded, reaching the outer walls and the main house.
Kaio, who began attacking again, was not affected by the Sword of the Reign of the King of Legends.
Instead, he seemed to empower the killer god with Jin's lightning energy, resonating with the energy of the battle god.
Still, all of Kalon was eroded by chaos, but the Chaos energy could no longer be found in the Garden of Swords.
It was because Jin's, Kaio's, and Padler's lightning had erased the Chaos from the Garden of Swords.But to Jin, seeing the now bright blue garden of swords seemed more distressing than when it was filled with chaos.
[Ahhhh......!]
Padler roared. His body was being torn apart.
He had a hole in his left cheek, while his waist twisted and split, emitting gruesome sounds of bones breaking and readjusting.
Just then, a giant arrow from the godslayer pierced through the center of his chest.
Through the hole in his chest, the lightning behind him could be seen.
Still, Padler did not fall and swung his sword again. His body, which should have died and stopped more than ten times over, only emitted more formidable power with each strike.
Where do I have to cut to finish him?
It seemed like he wouldn't stop even if his neck fell off.
It seemed like he would only stop if everything that composed Padler's body was destroyed: his blood, his flesh, and even the last bit of bone.
"Stubborn ghost..." Kaio said as he drew the string of his bow.
The word "stubborn" did not refer to the Chaos energy that composed Padler.
It referred to a special condition Padler was going through.
Transcendence.
The transcendence of a Warrior surpassing limits while facing a formidable enemy, allowing Padler to keep wielding his sword despite being torn apart.
Just like Ron Hairan had transcended the fate of death in the War of the Sword Emperor Castle... Padler was also pushing past the limit as he clashed swords with Jin.
'Temar. I can see it now too... the next level.'
With each passing second, Padler felt his body growing lighter.
It seemed like the destructive power of the original Sword of the Reign of the King of Legends, which dominated the Thunder of Retribution initially, no longer seemed like a threat.
There wasn't much excitement as he pushed Sigmund away, and even when the lightning pierced through his body, he felt no pain.
"But even if it goes beyond that level... what meaning does it have?"
The godslayer's arrow pierced Padler once again.
"Nothing but futile hatred, unable to overcome even Chaos. You could never defeat Brother Jin. Even if he didn't call me."
Just by transcending like Ron, it doesn't mean everyone can achieve results like Ron.
The values of protecting people despite being consumed by Chaos and the desire to kill could not be the same.
As if to refute it, Padler stabbed and left a long gash in Jin's chest.
Jin pushed Padler aside without flinching, and a snap was heard as Padler fell to the ground.
Then he rose again and aimed at Silus.
As he looked more miserable, the energy of the Thunder of Retribution amplified.
It grew incessantly.
In terms of power alone, the Thunder of Retribution reached a level comparable to that of the Sword of the Reign of the King of Legends.
It seemed to be out of control.
The blue thunder went beyond the cloud formed by the Sword of the Reign of the King of Legends and caused damage to Ram, the chaos dragon, and the black battleships.
"In the end, you've lost your reason and started striking even your allies. From Brother Jin's perspective, this isn't bad at all."
[He's not losing his reason, Brother Kaio.]
Jin rather thought the opposite.
"What?"
[Since it's going to be the end anyway, it seems like he's trying to destroy as much as possible in Runcandel...]
Wow...!
A huge crack appeared under the bottom of Ram.
The chaos dragons and black ships flying beneath them instantly turned to ashes.
The major factions waiting outside could see Ram becoming unstable for the first time.
Space began to tear open in the sky.
"As the leader said, the Twelfth Flagbearer is damaging Ram's power..." said Berakt.
He was mesmerized by the immense lightning illuminating the Garden of Swords, following the blue flame from before.
They felt both fear and excitement at the sight of such immense power, something they would never have seen unless it was the patriarch, Cyron Runcandel, or the late Ron Hairan.
[It's not the power of the Twelfth Flagbearer, but the power of Runcandel's great knight, the Blue Thunder King. Rosa Runcandel and the Prophet have been too ambitious.]
"...... Are you saying there's another knight like the Twelfth Flagbearer in the Garden of Swords?"
[Yes. But it's a dying ember. All fleet, ready for intensive bombardment. We can't miss this opportunity.]
Unlike Zipple, the Kinzelo fleet has not suffered significant damage yet.
As the battleships, led by Grenille, gathered at the vanguard, the fleet of up to five hundred battleships charged all their main cannons.
Aaaaa..!
Like a meteor shower, the bombardment rained down on Ram and the Garden of Swords.
More than 80% of the fleet's attack was directed towards the garden because it seemed like their attack wouldn't be enough to hit Ram, but Zephyrin's breath hit the side of Ram.
Seeing Kinzelo's bombardment from the opposite side, Zipple also gathered his fleet. All of his main cannons were aimed at Ram.
[We must attack before Runcandel's battleship recovers...!]
A mountain of fire formed behind Kadun.
He managed to release all of his stored power while enduring Ram's main cannon and smashing the chaos dragon and black ships.
'Damn it, the soul of the ten great knights... I didn't expect this to happen.'
The Prophet bit her lip, looking at Rosa.
It was Rosa who ordered Padler to be summoned.
So even if Padler failed against Jin, Rosa wouldn't blame her.
However, regardless of whether the mission to kill Jin succeeded or not, the Prophet's inability to control Padler stemmed from her own lack of skill.
If Rosa questioned her about it later, the Prophet would find herself vulnerable to scrutiny again.
'Nothing ever goes as planned. Judging by the situation, it seems that not even Padler will be able to defeat Jin... I should have warned him about the dangers of using the soul of the Great Knight.'
Even the Prophet had predicted that Stam and Lionel wouldn't be enough, but Padler's case was truly unexpected.
She knew that even with variables like the invocation of members of the Tribe of Legends and the Sword of the Reign of the King of Legends, if it was Padler, he would be able to finish Jin off.
'...Maybe, it might actually be for the best. If even Padler is defeated, then Rosa Runcandel will have to take matters into her own hands.'
If that were to happen, it's highly likely that the speed at which Rosa's mind collapses will accelerate. However, the Prophet had no justification to speak before Rosa.
So while she thought about it, Rosa spoke up first.
[Understood why Joshua in the past was defeated like that. Retrieve Padler's soul.]
"Are you saying you'll intervene personally?"
Rosa didn't respond; instead, she diverted Kadun's incoming flames.
Fragments of Ram, chaos dragons, and black ships floated in the chaotic black sky.
Meanwhile, Kinzelo's bombardment hit the Garden of Swords.
"Do these humans dare to challenge the Gods like us? We only heard from you that outside was dizzy, but I didn't expect it to be like this."
Kaio fired the GodSlayer and intercepted the cannonballs falling towards Jin.
Most were countered by the Sword of the Reign of the King of Legends and the blue thunder, but occasionally, some projectiles managed to penetrate.
And it's because Jin was organizing the power.
It was natural, because he was facing strong men like Stam, Lionel, and Padler, one after another.
They would have been absolute beings in any era without Cyron.
However, unlike Jin, Padler didn't have anyone to block the bombardment, nor the will to defend against them by himself.
He didn't even dodge the cannonballs, and continued to radiate blue thunder throughout the garden of swords and Jin.
An evil ghost transcending through hatred, the final destination Padler reached resembled a monster like Smarion.
His appearance was no longer that of a human.
Over 70% of his body, which had been emitting a faint bluish light, had disappeared. His body, floating without legs, was riddled with holes.
He held the sword with the three fingers he had left, had lost half his head, and his single eye was still full of hatred.
Can this really be called the result of transcendence?
Actually, the result was decided from the moment the Sword of the Reign of the King of Legends was executed.
The reason Jin couldn't deal with him was simply a matter of efficiency.
If Jin waited a bit, the Thunder of Retribution would dissipate and Padler would self-destruct.
After that, even if one of his fingers remained, it was clear that Padler wouldn't be a threat even if he crawled on the ground towards him.
The thunder of retribution began to abate.
But the next moment. Just like what happened to Lionel. Jin could see how the soul drained from Padler's remaining body.
Unlike Lionel, the soul refused to leave the body.
He clearly resisted the Prophet's control.
"I've never seen so much resentment in my life, Brother Jin. Brother? Why are you approaching him? Isn't your Shadow Sword still unable to cut the soul? It's not even worthy of cutting. It's already a ruin."
Jin had a completely different thought when he tried to cut Lionel's soul.
Jin approached Padler because he wanted to tell him something.
[Padler-nim]
Padler swung his sword against the approaching Jin.
The sword was as powerful as if a child wielded it.
Not a scratch was left on Jin's body.
As great as the resentment was, Padler's energy had truly depleted.
[Sir, you will be summoned again. That's the only reason the person who summoned you is trying to retrieve the soul now]
Still, Padler continued to swing his sword.
Resisting the Prophet's soul retrieval.
[So at that time, take revenge on me, instead of Runcandel and Temar from a thousand years ago... Please harbor hatred towards me, not towards the distant past about which even your memories aren't clear]
That would undoubtedly be better for you...
With those words, Jin watched Padler's soul escape.
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