Chapter 841 – 841. A Tyrant For You
Utemo’s warhammer surged forward. I used telekinesis to evade it, pulling my body backward. This unconventional method of evasion proved effective.
*Thwack!* The ground where the warhammer struck caved in, sending debris flying. The sheer power was terrifying.
“How simple-minded.”
“Battles don’t need to be complicated! Crush the enemy’s skull! That is my way of fighting!”
“I understand.”
Utemo’s fighting style was purely based on strength. That didn’t mean he was slow. With such immense power, agility naturally followed. Just seeing him keep up with my movements showed how fast he was.
“How long are you going to keep running away!”
I glanced towards the city gate. Imperial troops were pouring in alongside the knights, engaging the dwarven forces. With the mounted knights rampaging, the advantage was clearly with the Empire.
‘It doesn’t seem like I need to help. I’ve also roughly grasped Utemo’s fighting style. Shall we start fighting for real?’
I summoned five phantom swords. Using telekinesis, I controlled each sword, sending them towards him. Utemo ignored the phantom swords, not even glancing at them as he approached me. The five phantom swords were easily blocked by the rock shield protecting his body and bounced away.
However, the deflected phantom swords didn’t fall to the ground but surged back towards Utemo. After a few strikes, cracks appeared on the rock shield, and it shattered. However, a new shield appeared again, blocking the phantom swords.
‘Nothing lasts forever. If you keep at it, it will eventually break. Lightning!’
Currents flowed through the ground. Utemo’s body twitched, but that was it. He walked on firmly.
‘It’s minimal, but it’s not completely ineffective.’
I enveloped my body in lightning and charged towards Utemo.
Sword and warhammer clashed. In a direct confrontation, the warhammer had the advantage. I twisted my sword to deflect the force of the warhammer. It was impossible to completely deflect the impact. My stance faltered.
‘A split second!’
There was an opening. A gap in the rock shield created by the five phantom swords. I thrust my sword into that gap. The sword met Utemo’s shoulder armor. It wasn’t ordinary armor; it emitted a faint light and resisted the sword.
‘This isn’t an ordinary sword either.’
I put more strength into the hand holding Arondight. The condensed aura blade pierced through the armor, and the sword reached Utemo’s shoulder.
“Kuh!”
Utemo suppressed a scream. He didn’t retreat but prepared a counterattack. A rock spike appeared beside me, aiming for my flank.
‘You’ll be the one to die first.’
I changed the direction of my force, aiming for his neck directly from his shoulder. It was the moment Arondight was about to cut through his flesh when my body suddenly flew backward. Utemo’s rock spike hadn’t even touched me.
‘…What?!’
This sensation. I felt a sense of déjà vu. It felt like I had experienced this before.
‘…It’s similar to when the high priestess of the Earth Mother cursed me and banished me from the land.’
I used telekinesis to regain my balance after being thrown back. The blood flowing from Utemo’s shoulder stopped. No, it was healed.
“Oh Earth Mother, I thank thee!”
“……Earth Mother? Was he a priest? He didn’t look like one at all.”
“I am not a priest. It is just that the Earth Mother has lent me her aid. It seems the Earth Mother dislikes you quite a bit.”
“……!”
Pressure was applied to my body. Gravity suddenly doubled. I couldn’t sense mana or divine power. Nature itself was hindering me. It was hard to move. The five phantom swords that were attacking Utemo had already fallen to the ground, unable to move.
“A god… intervened directly?!”
“All the land in this world is the domain of the Earth Mother.”
Utemo’s eyes glowed. A massive rock spike appeared between him and me. The rock spike compressed and became smaller. A chilling sound, like the earth breaking, echoed.
“Emperor. Do you see the light of Galatine? This light announces your evil and promises my victory.”
The ability where the light grows stronger the more evil the opponent is, giving the wielder that much more power.
It was an annoying ability. If it weren’t for that ability, Utemo would never have been able to fight me on equal terms.
“Emperor! Die here!”
Utemo swung his warhammer, striking the compressed spike.
‘Thousand Hearts, Split Second.’
I used two skills in succession. With Thousand Hearts, I broke free from the effects of gravity holding my body, and with Split Second, I accelerated. I narrowly dodged the flying rock spike and thrust my sword at him.
It worked. The enhanced physical abilities from Thousand Hearts shone. I shattered all the rock shields protecting Utemo, tore through his armor, and inflicted a fatal wound on his body.
“……!!”
Utemo, horrified, raised his warhammer. He was about to strike my torso. It was simple. I predicted his attack before he even lifted the warhammer. I dodged Utemo’s attack and aimed for his neck this time.
-My friend!
A heavy voice that made the air tremble echoed. At the same time, Utemo disappeared. My sword only cut through empty air.
“Tch.”
I clicked my tongue and looked up.
There was a dragon. And Utemo was riding on the dragon’s back.
A massive body that seemed to be 100 meters long. Scales that looked like they were made of hard rock. Threatening horns and wings that blocked the sun. Golden eyes looked down at the city and used magic. Rocks generated in the sky fell to the ground, attacking the Imperial troops.
“Your Majesty! Are you unharmed?!”
“…General. I am fine. More importantly, do you know what that damned lizard is?”
“It is Telgmao, the guardian dragon of Toltos and an earth dragon. It is said that the current king, Utemo, has a long-standing friendship with it. …I never imagined a dragon would appear in person to save Toltos….”
Luteon said. Dragons were originally detached from the human world. Even guardian dragons rarely appeared in person to help a nation.
“No. It didn’t appear to save the nation or to help Utemo. It appeared to kill me. I can feel the dragon’s chilling killing intent even from here.”
“…Your Majesty. The appearance of a dragon is an unprecedented event.”
“Do you think we should retreat?”
“……No, Your Majesty. Retreat is not an option. The dragon’s most powerful attack is its breath, but Telgmao is currently refraining from using it.”
“That must be because it doesn’t want to involve the dwarves. General, command the battlefield. Kill all the dwarves. I will take care of the dragon.”
“I shall obey your command!”
I used telekinesis to soar into the sky. The closer I got to the dragon, the more I felt how small my sword was compared to its size.
‘Meteor Sword Chain.’
A magical artifact in the form of a bracelet that I took from the Meteor Sword Master after killing him in the Guangmyeong Ascension Hall. Its original name was Meteor Sword, but I called it Meteor Sword Chain for convenience. It combined with Stormbreaker as soon as it was summoned. With this, the effects of the Meteor Sword Chain, influenced by Stormbreaker, would be several times stronger.
‘The first meteor sword.’
I summoned a meteor sword from the sky. A giant sword, absorbing my energy and imbued with lightning, appeared in the sky and fell vertically towards the dragon. The sword was over 300 meters long. The dragon, horrified, flapped its wings wildly to evade it.
The meteor sword fell straight to the ground and pierced through the dwarven city. Lightning erupted from the sword, spreading in all directions. Both enemy and ally soldiers nearby were killed.
I then summoned a second and third meteor sword, aiming for the dragon. The dragon performed acrobatic maneuvers, dodging all the meteor swords.
-Even if it means involving his own troops, he doesn’t stop attacking. He’s as crazy as I’ve heard.
The dragon muttered in a weary tone.
“Telgmao! The Emperor must be killed here!”
-I know. The Earth Mother gave me a divine revelation. She told me to help you destroy the Emperor, who will disrupt the order of the continent and plunge countless lives into suffering!
The dragon flew towards me.
I felt the pressure of gravity compressing my body again. I used telekinesis to stop my falling body.
“Damn Earth Mother! I swear on everything I have. I will definitely fuck you like a dog!”
I endured the rising breath and swung Arondight towards the dragon. The sword, imbued with an aura blade, pierced through the dragon’s hard scales and inflicted a wound. However, compared to the dragon’s size, my sword was like a toothpick. This level of damage was by no means fatal.
The dragon’s tail lashed out at me like a whip. I gritted my teeth, endured the impact, and grabbed onto the scales of the dragon’s tail. I plunged my sword into the tail. The dragon’s blood flowed, but it was far from a fatal wound.
“Meteor Sword!!”
I summoned three giant swords, aiming for the dragon’s front, top, and sides. The dragon flew nimbly, but it couldn’t avoid the sword on the left. The dragon screamed.
-Kuaaaak!
The dragon’s left wing was pierced and began to freeze.
The energy of frost.
It was a new ability I gained after consuming the heart of the Frost Worm, which Grand Duke Rist had given me as a birthday present.
The dragon staggered and fell. I rode stably on its tail and rushed towards Utemo. Utemo, also holding his warhammer in both hands, ran towards me.
*Clang!*
Sword and warhammer collided. I cut Utemo’s right shoulder, and my body was thrown out of the dragon. As I used telekinesis to stop myself from falling in mid-air, a rock spike flew up from below, launching my body upwards.
Immediately after, the dragon, despite having its wings torn, floated in the sky using magic and inhaled. It was absorbing the mana of the atmosphere. And then, it exhaled its breath towards the sky, towards me.
A scorching hot lava breath surged up. I wrapped my body in a protective aura.
“Meteor Sword…!!”
A giant sword imbued with cold energy was generated behind me and fell towards the lava breath. The meteor sword seemed to hold, but the tip of the sword began to melt.
One meteor sword was not enough.
I then generated two more meteor swords. It was not enough. I summoned two more. The momentum of the lava breath decreased. Nevertheless, it succeeded in melting and destroying half of my armor. Still, thanks to the protective aura and armor, my body was fine.
“Meteor Sword!!”
I summoned three meteor swords flowing with cold energy. I overlapped two giant meteor swords to block the weakened lava breath, and the remaining one pierced through the breath and the dragon’s body.
-Unbelievable…! Is this truly the power a single human can possess!!
The dragon couldn’t withstand the power of the 300-meter-long meteor sword and crashed into the foothills. I then dropped two more meteor swords. The meteor swords pierced through the dragon’s neck and belly. The dragon’s corpse then froze from the cold of the meteor swords.
I used telekinesis to land in front of the dragon’s corpse. Because Utemo was there.
“Emperor!!”
Utemo ran towards me with all his might. The rock shield that had been protecting his body was gone. Like me, Utemo was also at his limit. Instead, there was a compressed rock spike in front of him.
‘Did he get angry because the dragon died? His power is immense, but he’s full of openings.’
I could easily win at this point.
I ignored my pounding heart and raised my sword. I was so tired I wanted to collapse immediately, but that could wait until after I killed Utemo.
That was when it happened. Suddenly, green plant stems rose from the ground, wrapping around my legs, waist, and shoulders, restraining me.
“That damn woman is interfering again!!”
Utemo was right in front of me.
My armor, less than half of which remained, and Stormbreaker were deactivated. The disassembled Stormbreaker became a hexagonal shield in front of me.
*Bang!*
The rock spike collided with the shield. I unleashed lightning, burning away all the plants that were restraining my body.
Utemo struck the spike with his warhammer. The Stormbreaker shield shattered. But Stormbreaker had already done its job. I narrowly dodged the rock spike that had been aiming for my chest. My left shoulder, which was hit by the spike, was crushed to dust.
However, my sword successfully pierced Utemo’s head.
The battle was over.
Without the dragon and Utemo, the capital of Toltos would soon fall.
I had won.
