(The skies of Juxta, Charles's POV)
In his mind for the past couple of hours, Charles had already calculated exactly how this fight was going to unfold, for if he were the enemy commander with a fleet his size, it was also how he would allocate resources.
As per his calculations, Raymond was likely to disperse two of his four Monarch-tier underlings to other parts of the planet, to wrap up the ground battle as quickly as possible, while keeping the other two close as part of his central attack force.
Charles also knew that if he wanted even the tiniest chance of defeating Raymond, he first needed to deal with those two Monarch-tier subordinates.
For only by cutting them down and forcing Raymond into a one-on-one duel could he then make use of his hidden ace to immobilize the Demi-God, and carve out the slimmest chance at victory.
'If Raymond is a tactical leader, he will first send out the Monarch tier underlings to double team me and take me down.
That way, he can observe my fighting style and see me being whittled down before joining the fray personally.
However, if I kill those two Monarch Tier warriors before he has a chance to interfere..... then I can improve my odds of victory by a few points.'
Charles thought, as just as he expected, Raymond sent his underlings to deal with him, the moment he dared stop his ship.
"How dare you block the path of Lord Raymond... you filthy Cult infidel! You will pay for this insolence with your life—"
The first Monarch spat as his ship's hatch opened, revealing a towering brute named Commander Raghun, who carried a heavy cleaver as tall as a man on his shoulders.
Beside him floated his comrade, Seraphine Kael, who was slimmer yet no less deadly, her snow-white robes fluttering against the winds as they revealed her long milky white legs.
Twin chain-blades unraveled from her wrists, each link inscribed with glowing runes, as the weapons coiled lazily around her palms before snapping taut with murderous intent.
*SHINK*
Charles eyed them both, his lips tightening into a faint smile, as though greeting old acquaintances rather than enemies set on his death.
He had heard of them both, and their reputation as solid warriors. Yet he was not afraid of them in the slightest.
'Two Monarchs, one brute, one specialist... they seem to work in a team.'
He analysed, as just by how the duo stood, he could see that they had fought countless battles together before this.
*WOOSH*
*WOOSH*
At this moment, the duo suddenly fanned out, their coordination wordless, practiced and efficient.
They seemed to have no more words for Charles, as Raghun swung his cleaver in a brutal arc, the weapon igniting with a crimson flare as he unleashed [Cleave of Annihilation], a descending stroke that split the heavens into a jagged scar, the trajectory screaming straight for Charles's skull.
At the same time, Seraphine flicked her wrists, the chain-blades shooting forward like thunderbolts, their runes blazing as she invoked [Yellow Flash], an attack meant to shred anything it touched.
For most warriors, there would have been no escape.
One attack from above, heavy and inevitable.
One attack from below, coiling and inescapable.
But Charles was no ordinary warrior.
His eyes narrowed, his Intent Mastery flaring as time itself seemed to slow, the threads of aura stretching crimson across the sky.
From the cleaver's edge to his own skull, he saw a red thread taut with lethal certainty.
From the chain-blades' tips to his chest, he saw another thread pulsing like a heartbeat of doom.
As at this point, two threads bound him to death, yet, for him both were avoidable just because he saw their trajectory a split second before it took root.
'Raghun is aiming for the obvious target. My head. He wants to pin me in place, force me to block, and break my guard with brute force. While Seraphine is the true threat— her chains are meant to trap me while Raghun's blade finishes the job.
It's a good strategy against an ordinary Monarch. But unfortunately, it's not enough to stop me!'
Charles thought, as at the last possible heartbeat, he tilted his head, body snapping out of the line of death with inhuman precision, as Raghun's cleaver missed his skull by inches.
*SWOOOSH*
At the same moment, his boot flicked against the empty air, propelling him sideways in a blur that left the chain-blades slicing nothing but afterimage, as he successfully dodged both incoming strikes.
"What?"
Raghun muttered, the two Monarchs blinking in stunned confusion, as their superfast attacks that seemed impossible to dodge were somehow dodged by Charles.
"[Hyperspeed]."
Charles muttered under his breath, as he knew this was the exact moment where he needed to end this fight, to have any hopes of defeating Raymond next.
And as a result, the world around him blurred into streaks of silver and black, his sword becoming nothing but a line of light as his body fractured into a dozen afterimages, each one cutting across the battlefield faster than the eye could follow.
Seraphine whipped her chains wildly, her instincts screaming danger, while Raghun raised his cleaver in desperation, yet to their horror, Charles was already inside their guard, his blade overhead in an executioner's arc.
[Crown Fall].
The sword descended like a verdict, light gathering into a crushing brilliance that split the sky itself.
*CRUNCH*
*CRACK*
Raghun's Cleaver shattered on contact from Charles's raw power, its metal shards scattering like glass into the sky, as the Monarch's eyes widened in horror.
"How?"
He mused, as Charles's strike continued with its momentum and severed his neck clean off his chest, his head spinning away before his body even registered its death.
*SPLAT*
The blood drops emerged, yet, not even a full second after he killed Raghun, Charles managed to breach Seraphine's guard as well, his blade sweeping in a lethal arc towards her neck.
*Move*
Desperate to save her life, Seraphine moved as fast as she could to raise her weapon and block the blow, however, the second arc of [Crown Fall] proved to be even faster than the first, and before her body could even react, the red of fate already closed down against her throat
*SPLAT*
Her lips parted in disbelief, she had not yet recovered from Charles dodging the Yellow Flash, when suddenly, her own head was sliced away from her body, as from start to finish, she couldn't even hold her own for a full minute against the Cult's strongest Monarch.
'So this is the true strength of the Evil Cult's Vice Sect Master... the one they call the strongest Monarch in the universe...'
She thought, as her final thought was not anger, nor even disbelief, but a hollow regret -- regret that a lifetime of victories, a path carved through endless trials, and the pride of reaching Monarchhood all ended so easily, undone in a single swing as though none of it had ever mattered.
'Ha.... I always thought that I'd live a good life once I became Monarch and had the power to conquer entire planets on my own.
Yet I'm now dying as a lonely woman.
Perhaps I should not have turned down Marcus's hand in marriage.
Perhaps instead of chasing strength, I should have settled down and raised a family.
Alas, I chose wrong!
She thought, as the light in her eyes faded forever.
(More chapters in Buyers club for TMT)