Chapter 810
When Dante first realized the Red Fleet’s attack in the conference room, Hedo was observing the bird dragons from the castle’s waiting room. This allowed Hedo to concentrate on the rear while the Red Fleet concentrated on the front shield.
In a way, it was better for Hedo that Dante took the knights and bird dragons with him because he no longer needed to fight while he considered the lives of the knights and bird dragons.
From the initial bombardment until now, Hedo had swung his sword to protect the bird dragons and knights. However, now he had to put all his effort into attacking.
The enemies were concentrating on Dante and the retreating knights, so they couldn’t pay attention to him.
Dante was known throughout the world as a formidable martial artist. Hedo didn’t have to worry about the shockwaves flowing through Dante’s ranks while he faced the fleet. In other words, he could fight at his leisure.
Hedo smiled.
His long sword shone a pure white, emitting a vast energy. His distinctive muscles instantly swelled. Beneath his tough and thick skin, the muscle fibers were tightly packed like countless sharp needles.
The muscles contorted fiercely with every movement, capable of concentrating force on any point. That power felt as if it could cut anything when applied to his sword and tear anything when applied to his hands.
As if inspecting a giant machinery, Hedo took a moment to feel his own body. His entire body was perfectly prepared to follow his will. He was ready to explode.Kwaaang!
Several shots hit Hedo directly, but the enemy’s attacks couldn’t penetrate his powerful flesh and bounced back into the void. Hedo grabbed the disintegrated enemy projectiles and crushed them with a savage force, making the Red Fleet flinch in surprise.
‘Is that… a human?’
‘He simply got rid of the fleet’s bombardment without a shield? Madness, he’s jumping across the battleships! Even now, the sky is full of Compatriot Drek’s lightning bolts…!’
Although it wasn’t the level of the flagship Barion’s bombardment, it was still far beyond the common sense of the Red Fleet members. To resist Barion’s lightning bolts, one would need defensive power exceeding that of the Red Fleet. That meant Hedo’s physical body was tougher than a battleship.
Moreover, that monstrous human had already begun to fire his sword aura. His sword style, originating from his tremendous strength, released a sword aura that enveloped the fleet like a tidal wave.
The bombardment aimed at Dante and the knights lost its trajectory under the pressure of the sword style, causing the nearest fleet to momentarily tilt and be pushed back. The sword style momentarily obscured the fleet’s vision.
When the leftmost fleet in the vanguard regained their sight, the first thing the Red Fleet members saw was Hedo, who had jumped from one battleship to another.
“Fire! Fire while activating the spines!”
Cannons emerged from both sides of the battleships, firing projectiles towards Hedo. However, even the main cannons couldn’t penetrate Hedo’s muscles. He didn’t even bother dodging the projectiles and, instead, plunged his sword into the Red Legend Tribe’s battleship.
Pzzhh-!
Simultaneously, the neighboring battleship’s lightning shields, called “spines,” deployed. It was a device designed to get rid of enemies who directly boarded the battleship and had the power to quickly dispose of even the powerful bird dragons. For Hedo, it was simply a small trap.
He exploded the energy in his sword thrust and destroyed the battleship. In the shattered remains of the battleship, Red Fleet members emerged. Some were jumping to other battleships to survive, while others charged towards Hedo to stop him.
However, they all met the same fate. The approaching enemies were cut by his sword, while those who retreated were hit by the sword aura. The cut body parts of the slain Red Legends flew towards the nearby battleships, creating a horrible sight.
“I will destroy them all!”
Hedo said as he grabbed the bridge with his left hand. Although it was partially destroyed by the explosion, it was still more than ten times larger than him. Hedo lifted it like a stone and threw it at the adjacent battleship.
The neighboring battleship’s crew blinked in disbelief. Did that human just lift a broken bridge with his hand and throw it?
Before they could process the thought, Hedo’s face was right in front of them.
“Ah, he’s coming!”
With a strong blow, Hedo broke the glass with his fist and grabbed a Red Legend’s neck and twisted it. Then, he plunged his sword into his mouth, grabbing the hole in the glass with his hands. In that position, he demonstrated the tremendous power of “tearing” the battleship.
Krraaaaak-!
As Hedo roared, the battleship split in half and began to fall to the ground. It was as if he had torn the battleship like a piece of paper.
Two battleships had already sunk. The Red Legend Tribe members were bewildered by the sudden and devastating attack from the rear.
The flying battleships were undoubtedly the most powerful war machines, but they weren’t suitable for close-combat. What made fleets strong, whether ancient or modern, was their ability to launch overwhelming long-range attacks along with superior maneuverability.
The problem was that they were too close from the beginning. If Hedo had to withstand precise attacks from battleships from tens of kilometers away, he wouldn’t have been able to approach so easily.
Of course, even now, there wouldn’t be more than ten people in the world who could engage in close-combat like he was doing.
While he soared through the air and destroyed the battleships, Hedo continued to fire sword aura, constantly interrupting the flagship’s bombardment towards Dante. Perhaps it would have been better if Drek concentrated his attacks in Dante’s direction with hundreds of battleships, excluding the flagship.
Hedo alone couldn’t deflect the attacks of so many battleships.
“We need to abandon the Sword Emperor. From now on, all fleets will maintain their distance and prepare for precision attacks on Hedo. I will personally restrain him.”
Drek quickly modified his orders. Continuing the battle as it was would only lead to unnecessary losses of the fleet. He decided to give up Dante and the knights and concentrate on eliminating Hedo.
When the flagship Barion’s bridge opened, Hedo jumped to the bridge of a neighboring battleship and took a deep breath. Hedo and Drek’s gazes crossed between the battleships.
The bombardment ceased. The flagship Barion no longer fired at Dante and the bird dragons, and the menacing lightning bolts in the sky were also decreasing.
“Finally, the captain himself is coming out.”
“The surface world is truly amazing.”
“If you’re surprised, return to the underground silently and act as if you’re dead. As long as the Vamel Alliance exists, the Red Legend Tribe will never be the conqueror in this world.”
“I can’t understand it. Is there any reason for humans like you to risk their lives to protect this insignificant castle? Originally, we were after the bird dragons and dragon knights, but they are nothing more than flesh and bone compared to you or the Sword Emperor.”
“I am someone whose purpose is to protect something.”
“Why did you let the Sword Emperor escape? If you had abandoned the other humans and bird dragons, you could have escaped together.”
“That’s obvious. The Sword Emperor went to call for reinforcements. The Red Legend Tribe fears the owner of that name.”
“Jin Runcandel… I heard from Compatriot Rakiman and the compatriots of Patlok Castle that he is, in fact, a troublesome human. You seem confident that you can resist me and the fleet until he arrives.”
“Absolutely.”
“Yes, it seems like you have the power to think that way. But unfortunately, the problem is that you’re against me. It’s time to wake up from your delusions.”
As Drek finished speaking, Hedo instinctively felt danger and raised his sword. It seemed like an ambush. If it had been a frontal ambush like this, Hedo could have easily blocked it, even if his opponent was Yona herself.
He thought he had blocked it, but he felt as if something chilling had passed through him.
‘What was that? I didn’t see anything. Was it my imagination?’
Hedo quickly tried to awaken all his senses, but he didn’t feel anything. He wasn’t cut nor hit anywhere on his body.
But the next moment…
‘Blood!? Blood…!’
Hedo could see the ‘blood’ coming out of his body with his own eyes. For some reason, blood droplets were spreading all over his body, floating in the air.
Hedo quickly formed a protective shield, but the blood ignored the physical force, turned into particles and dispersed from the shield towards Drek.
Drek smiled as if he had expected Hedo’s reaction.
“Vampire. Before being sealed, countless immortals and mortals of the ancient world used to call me that.”
Sucking blood, that was Drek’s unique ability as the Great King of Battle. Instinctively, Hedo threw himself to the ground to create distance.
‘As the distance increased, the speed at which blood was coming out decreased. It’s useless to fight from close.’
The problem was that Drek didn’t just possess that power.
“Why are you in such a hurry suddenly? It seems like you’re desperate to increase the distance between us.”
Drek had already positioned himself on the ground, swinging his spear before Hedo could react. Hedo narrowly avoided the spear, but he could see that even more blood was coming out of his body than before.
Although it wasn’t immediately showing, he knew that if this continued, his movements would soon become slow, and he might even face death.
Moreover, the fleet was following Drek’s orders, expanding their formation and retreating. In a short time, they would be at a distance where Hedo’s sword blows couldn’t reach, and the bombardment would begin again.
‘If I get closer, he will drain my blood faster, but if I move away, the fleet will have an easier time hitting me…’
It was a dilemma.
‘Since it seems like he’s given up on the Sword Emperor, maybe the safest option is to hold out until I can retreat to a safe area. When Jin arrives, he will probably investigate my escape route and follow me.’
Drek saw through all his thoughts.
“You probably chose to hold out and then escape. But, Hedo, our fleet can accurately attack you even if we are fighting at close range. I saw before that you could resist the bombardment even without protection, but can you maintain that?”
Hedo didn’t answer and dispersed his sword aura while retreating. It felt like a strange sensation, as if his blood was running inside him. He couldn’t easily find the “distance where the blood wouldn’t be absorbed.”
Drek’s spear continued to explode the lightning bolts, hindering Hedo’s movements. Every time he had to stop, he inevitably approached Drek, and more blood was extracted from him.
“A disgusting ability you have there.”
Drek extended his long tongue and licked the blood droplets in the air.
“Ah, your blood is so rich… It’s incomparable with the knights and bird dragons I intended to devour. Today, my compatriots and I will feed on your blood, Hedo.”
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