Chapter 161

CRASH!

The hard side of Aso’s sword slammed squarely into Alexion’s midsection.

Even though the protection of Holy Shield was working to absorb the impact, Aso’s incredible swiftness meant the agonizing pain still tore through his defenses.

Ugh—!

The moment Alexion flinched and stumbled backward—

BOOM!

A violent burst of energy blew a crater into the dirt precisely where he had been standing a second before.

That destructive force…!

What would have happened without Holy Shield?

No matter how dense his protective gear was, wouldn’t that have caused a massive amount of agony?

• Hey, you’re not half bad at slipping away, huh?

Clack, clack!

Aso tapped the flat side of her sword against her open hand, mocking him with an indifferent smirk.

It was the exact brand of confidence that only manifested when the disparity in capability was absolute.

She’s incredibly powerful.

Every single follicle on his body pricked up as a freezing shiver traveled straight down his back.

RUMBLE!

An aura potent enough to cleave the heavens burst outward from Aso’s frame.

Pacheon Divine Art.

The specialized combat system she had recently started studying with absolute seriousness under Drill Sarge.

True to its reputation.

Pacheon (破天)—Heaven Sunder!

SWISH-SWISH-SWISH-SWISH-SLAM!

The instant Aso engaged with true intent, dozens of blade strikes exploded forward all at once.

Every single trajectory carried unmistakable weight.

Rapid.

Incredibly rapid.

And when velocity reached that dizzying threshold, it was only a matter of course that the already brutal impacts hit with even greater violence.

However.

“HAAAAH!”

Alexion was a Paladin, when all was said and done.

And he wasn’t just some ordinary Paladin—he was a genuine holy warrior, ten times more formidable than the typical mid-level entities found in the Tower of Trials.

Paladin.

Guardian’s Prayer.

An empowerment technique that momentarily raised fighting capability through intense devotion directed toward the heavens.

He started deflecting Aso’s oncoming strikes one after another, pushing his physical limits with each desperate parry.

This is madness!

Unthinkable!

The eyes of the wandering citizens and soldiers observing from the perimeter stretched wide.

These two were operating on an entirely different plane of existence.

The Paladin was just as terrifying as rumors suggested, and Aso’s sheer capability—driving that elite Paladin into a corner—was far beyond anything they could have ever envisioned.

And neither one of them has even unleashed their maximum capability yet.

It’s literally just one young girl…

This situation is turning critical. We must summon additional Paladins. No—at this level of intensity, we require the presence of the Paladin Commander…

A handful of the watching military personnel slipped away into the shadows.

They had verified that this situation was incredibly severe.

They were clearly sprinting to alert the upper echelons of command.

Regardless of that.

The violent collision between Aso and Alexion continued to escalate.

BOOM-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-BANG!

Alexion demonstrated his status as a Paladin by unleashing immense holy energy, but Aso’s Pacheon Divine Art still possessed plenty of breathing room.

She dialed up the pressure step by step, until the atmosphere surrounding them was entirely engulfed by the residual paths of her blade.

Pacheon Divine Art (破天神功).

Secret technique (祕技).

Thousand Blades Tempest (千劍亂舞).

• Oh.

Drill Sarge emitted a brief sound of respect.

Her execution wasn’t flawless quite yet, but she was already capable of deploying a hidden technique?

CRASH-BANG-RUMBLE!

A thousand—quite literally the numeral one thousand (千).

An overwhelming storm of steel rained down directly upon Alexion.

Each individual strike carried enough momentum to slice open skin and shatter skeletal structures with a mere glancing blow.

Even from a distance, the reality was obvious to anyone. Aso maintained a crushing supremacy.

“Ngh—!”

Alexion held his position, taking the brunt of every impact with his physical frame, enduring the onslaught.

Step.

Aso’s movement across the ground was incredibly nimble.

She shifted in all directions, slipping through defensive flaws to thrust her weapon into every single opening in the Paladin’s stance.

Her choreography was entirely fluid, nearly cheerful.

And furthermore?

As if to openly highlight the massive gulf between their abilities, a subtle grin appeared on her face.

• Heh, this is genuinely entertaining.

Aso offered a giggle.

This adversary was clearly a level above the beasts she had battled within the Tower of Trials and the random predators she had run into in the wild.

Yet mere capability at that threshold wasn’t nearly enough to put her in true jeopardy.

Right at that fraction of a second.

“STOP PLAYING WITH ME!”

SHRRRRRRR!

A wave of energy incomparably more massive than anything prior surged directly from the Paladin’s broadsword.

Divine Blade.

A method that gave up a portion of his stored holy reserve to trigger a fleeting, catastrophic explosion of offensive power.

Yet Aso didn’t show a flicker of anxiety.

Her grin only turned wider.

Whish.

She dipped her upper body smoothly, letting the heavy edge whistle right over her hair.

BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!

Just as even the sturdiest boulder will eventually disintegrate if hammered relentlessly…

The flat side of Aso’s weapon pounded deeper and deeper into his guard.

Until at long last, a cataclysmic shockwave detonated straight against Alexion’s midriff.

His massive body was sent sailing backward from the sheer kinetic energy—

SNAP!

Aso closed the gap with even greater velocity, diving into an unyielding, rhythmic thrashing.

WHACK-WHACK-WHACK-WHACK-WHACK-WHACK!

• Just as I anticipated.

Drill Sarge gave a firm nod.

Paladins were the textbook definition of resilient frontline defenders, so he had briefly wondered if she might face some friction.

• She is dominating with ease. It is time to accelerate the training program.

Without a single shred of uncertainty, she had established absolute control over the engagement.

Holy Shield was completely shattered and stripped away.

Now the hard metal of Aso’s sword connected directly with flesh during every single impact, each strike driving home completely unhindered.

“PFFFT-HEUGH!”

Crimson fluid erupted from Alexion’s mouth.

She must have connected with dozens of additional blows following that initial breakthrough.

• Whew.

TAP!

Aso touched her boots down right behind him with remarkably soft footwork.

Alexion, thoroughly pulverized, looked as though his very consciousness had been shaken loose from his physical form.

His jaw hung slack in sheer shock as he wobbled unsteadily on his feet.

Thump.

He collapsed over onto his back.

How…

How could a single person possess this kind of power?

He had always held the conviction that the swordsmanship of the Holy Kingdom was the absolute peak across the entire continent!

• Wow, look at that.

Aso made a clicking sound with her tongue.

• See? I explicitly stated that a lone Paladin wasn’t going to cut it. Try listening to Dad for once in your life! Summon more of them out here!

Indeed.

He desperately desired to do so.

But he possessed absolutely no vitality remaining.

Incapable of clinging to awareness for even a fraction of a second longer, Alexion allowed his eyelids to drop shut.

Total darkness.

The Paladin was completely out cold.

The Holy King, that absolute piece of work.

What a massive chicken.

Seriously, at this point in the game, shouldn’t the man step out onto the field himself?

Yet he refused. He simply kept tossing them out one after another.

Well, what alternative did they have?

They would just keep causing a massive scene.

BOOM! CRASH!

Baek Jinwoo and Rachel took turns deploying their distinct summons straight into the chaos.

Drill Sarge, Aso, Rolly, Baekho, the golden dragon, and the Great Wizard.

When the enemy eventually started arriving in groups of ten or twenty at a time?

They simply coordinated their efforts and obliterated the entire line.

And as a direct consequence of that strategy.

“……”

Before they even realized it, the gathering of onlookers had expanded to several hundred individuals.

Observers had formed a massive perimeter around the battleground, and plenty of others had scaled nearby structures and guard towers to secure a superior vantage point.

And scattered across the dirt.

“Aaargh.”

“Ugh…”

“H-Holy King, deliver us…”

An untold number of Paladins were left rolling around on the stones.

Some were letting out low groans of agony. Others were crying out from what could only be fractured skeletal structures.

The civilian gathering was utterly paralyzed with astonishment.

This is impossible. That entire force of Paladins has been brought down?

Are those individuals even… part of the same species as the rest of us?

How did anomalies like that suddenly materialize out of thin air?

The surrounding crowd whispered in sheer disbelief, yet none of them showed actual terror.

They possessed eyes. They could analyze what was happening.

These intruders weren’t executing a single person on the kingdom’s side.

They were merely displaying an undeniable level of force and rendering their opponents helpless.

And because the entire display was so incredibly thrilling—so deeply gratifying to witness—several onlookers found themselves voicing cheers before they could even process what they were doing.

If those individuals were to wage war on our behalf…

Could we actually triumph over the demonic forces and aberrations outside our walls?

This wasn’t the specific outcome Baek Jinwoo had set out to achieve.

Yet he was already carving out a permanent position within the collective psyche of the local population.

And it wasn’t long after that moment.

“WHAT IS THE EXPLANATION FOR THIS INSANITY!”

An authoritative bellow reverberated from across the distance.

THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!

A suffocating aura rushed directly toward their position.

“Wait, what?”

“Cast your eyes over there!”

The civilian population turned around in a state of panic.

A massive contingent of Royal Guardians clad in radiant protective gear was sprinting directly into the fray.

“Th-that represents…!”

“The Royal Guardians!”

The hundred elite defenders explicitly sworn to preserve the life of the Holy King.

Only those particular Paladins who demonstrated the absolute peak of martial capability were ever permitted to join the ranks of the Royal Guardians.

“The Paladin Commander is leading them personally!”

“I can’t believe we are actually witnessing the Commander with our own eyes!”

The Paladin Commander.

Arno Villian. S-rank.

The absolute most formidable entity within the borders of the Holy Kingdom right after the Champion, and the most authentic Paladin to ever live.

Completely unaffected by any form of sorcery, and capable of inflicting a staggering 500% amplified damage against summons possessing the dark attribute. An absolute terror among terrors.

Oh.

Baek Jinwoo’s gaze shifted wider.

Rachel’s features tightened with a visible trace of caution.

CLANG! SNAP!

The Royal Guardians shifted rapidly into a synchronized battle array, brandishing their iconic golden shields and matching blades.

Confronted by the absolute pride of the kingdom’s military elite, the surrounding crowd instinctively lowered their gazes.

The situation just escalated significantly in difficulty.

But that was perfectly acceptable.

He had been accumulating Ramba stacks precisely to prepare for a scenario like this.

Click!

Baek Jinwoo reached down and activated the capturing apparatus that he had previously left powered down.

He possessed a strong intuition.

Something in his gut indicated that this impending clash was going to generate some genuinely legendary cinematic material.

The chronicle was incredibly well-received by the audience, after all. He would make excellent use of this footage down the line.

“Rachel.”

“I hear you.”

“Get yourself set. This is almost certainly the most grueling engagement on this entire level.”

When choosing to utilize the make-a-scene strategy, Floor 54 was actually significantly more brutal than Floors 55, 56, or 57.

Because they were forced to engage this specific group.

However?

• ROOOOOOOOOOOOAR!

Rachel’s golden dragon began to twist its massive form with immense energy.

• GRAUUUUUUUUURGH!

Baekho let out a thunderous roar.

WHOOSH……!

Gales whipped into a chaotic spiral directly around the Great Wizard.

I am not fighting by myself on this occasion.

He was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Rachel—the individual who had reigned as the undisputed pinnacle of power on Earth for the previous three years.

“WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU THINKING, CREATING SUCH A MASSIVE DISTURBANCE!”

The Commander’s thunderous voice rattled the very atmosphere.

No doubt about it.

Freezing eyes and an unmistakable S-rank presence radiated from every single particle of his form.

Step.

Baek Jinwoo moved his boot forward.

And declared.

“Grant us an audience with the Holy King. The moment that happens, we will cease all hostilities.”

Naturally, that was the absolute most insulting and antagonistic proposition one could possibly present to a dedicated Paladin.

“HOW ABSOLUTELY INSOLENT!”

True to expectations.

The man completely lost his temper.

“You have unleashed absolute pandemonium inside our domain, and you possess the audacity to think you deserve to stand before His Holiness?”

“If you refuse to grant us passage to see him, then our hands are tied. We will simply have to overpower every single one of you as well.”

“…What words just exited your mouth?”

The Commander’s eyebrows knitted together in fury.

Baek Jinwoo possessed zero desire to waste further time debating the matter.

Regardless of what phrases he chose, they were going to wind up trading blows regardless. That was simply how the scenario was designed to play out.

And the Commander must have sensed the definitive shift in the air.

He uttered not a single additional word of argument.

“ROYAL GUARDIANS!”

He simply roared out the directive.

“UNSHEATHE YOUR SACRED BLADES! ANNIHILATE THESE UNWORTY MISCREANTS WHO DARE PROFANE THE REPUTATION OF HIS HOLINESS!”

“”UNDERSTOOD, SIR!””

SHING!

SHIIIIING!

The visual of every single member of the Royal Guardians pulling their blades in perfect unison was nothing short of breathtaking.

We absolutely cannot allow ourselves to be outdone here.

“Huh?”

“Those individuals are capable of absorbing an immense amount of punishment, you realize?”

A-rank Paladins were widely recognized across the lands as the quintessential example of high-durability frontline fighters.

And these individuals standing before them were the Royal Guardians—the absolute pinnacle bosses among that entire category.

“Just launch right into it with an elemental breath strike.”

“Are you certain? What happens if they are completely wiped out?”

“Don’t stress over it. A basic breath strike isn’t going to be enough to claim their lives.”

The Royal Guardians represented highly valuable military elements that they would absolutely require when doing battle with the demonic entities later on.

Overpower them, without question. Terminate them, absolutely never.

“All right, I am putting my faith in your assessment here.”

RUMBLE……!

The golden dragon wrapped around Rachel’s form began to expand its physical dimensions dramatically.

“Wh-what is that monstrosity!”

“I have no conceptual understanding of what it could be, but the visual presence is absolutely terrifying…!”

The onlookers whispered among themselves and staggered backward in full retreat. Rachel completely disregarded their reactions, focusing entirely on expanding the sheer volume of the draconic entity.

“Hm…?”

Even the Paladin Commander’s gaze wavered with a sudden flash of astonishment.

CLENCH!

Rachel squeezed her fingers into a tight fist.

• SKREEEEEEEEEECH!

The golden dragon let out a piercing cry and began its rapid ascent straight into the stratosphere.

Rachel’s physical form ascended right along with it, hovering suspended in the open air.

Directed at them—with their weapons newly bared.

Directed at them—with their shields carried as mere showpieces.

Demonstrate it to them.

The golden dragon.

Golden Dragon (黃龍)!

Ascension Breath!

And in that identical fraction of a second—

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!

The colossal reptile’s jaws parted incredibly wide, and from deep within its throat, a brilliant golden illumination radiated downward toward the earth.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

An elemental breath torrent violent enough to completely dissolve everything within its trajectory totally consumed the entire line of Royal Guardians.