Chapter 298: Hero’s Promise (1)
The power of Avilius, the Holy Kingdom, was largely divided into two.
The first was the Paladins.
The White, Red, and Black knight orders were led by Julius Hul, who was the strongest on the continent and had the biggest reputation.
Then came the priests’ side, led by Ashrin Godeberta, the highest priest, another force that couldn’t be ignored.
Since the priests were the ones who solved most of the problems of the citizens and were also the ones who spent more time with the people, they could be seen as the group with the greater influence.
It was the latter that Gael believed in.
‘How many donations have I made?’
The money donated by the Wise head to the Holy Kingdom was astronomical. The number of people who had benefited from that was innumerable too.
Most of the temples spread across the continent were helped by him and in some places, the temples couldn’t even operate without his funds.
That was why Gael Wise was praised. In other words, the priests would be on his side.
Considering the special position he had as a half-elf, he was confident that he could get away, no matter how severe the issue was.
He became more convinced of it after the paladins became busy with the devils.
But…
‘Quincy Myers is here?’
Quincy Myers.
The former commander of the Red Knights Order who was publicly known to have died more than 10 years back. He was actually alive.
Not only was he working for the continent, but he was also still working hard for the devils’ subjugation.
Right.
Right now, he was a nobody. His authority, which was higher than anyone, was now a thing of the past.
However, by letting everything go, Quincy Myers was reborn as a being more noble than anyone else on the continent.
Neither the Paladins nor the priests could ignore him… the influence he had was no exaggeration.
“Long time no see.”
“Long time no see.”
… with that great person, Airn Pareira was talking warmly.
They both had soft expressions, and anyone could see that they were friendly.
‘This is bad.’
This wasn’t good.
Gael Wise struggled to analyze this situation and tried to come up with solutions.
But nothing came to his mind. No, he didn’t even know how this was happening.
If he was like this, then what of the others?
Each of them looked at Quincy Myers and then at Airn with eyes wide open.
Only Vulcanus is nonchalant about it.
Tak.
Quincy Myers jumped off his horse and walked ahead. And he pulled out the long sword on the back of the horse. It was an action that made both the Wise party and Ethan shudder.
Despite the fact that he was 120 years old, the flow of force coming from him was unbelievable.
Swish!
In that heavy atmosphere, only Airn was relaxed.
He was holding the golden great sword which was his trademark in his hand. He didn’t retreat a single step and moved ahead.
And he faced a paladin as great as Julius Hul.
He smiled.
And so did the old man.
The two exchanged smiles and the aura swords soared the next second.
Woong!
Woooong!
“No!”
“Ah!”
“…!”
The crowd was shocked. It was something unexpected.
It was hard to come to their senses, but were they going to fight now? With aura swords?
This was no ordinary aura sword.
Greater and denser light grew outwards from the sword of Quincy Myers, and Brudie Schaffer who was watching it felt helpless.
It was truly a ray of light only a mythical hero could have!
It was swung towards the young hero.
Kwaang!
“Kuak!”
“Ugh-!”
There was a huge roar and a shock wave pushed back everything. Those who were weak groaned and backed away, and those who weren’t pushed back couldn’t even see what had happened.
Still, they tried to look.
Airn Pareira, the blonde young man, was still standing there without losing his composure.
Kwang!
Kwang!
Kwang!
There were no superfluous movements.
The swords of Quincy Myers and Airn Pareira were honest. Swords kept clashing left and right without any respite.
It seemed more like a hand-to-hand battle. However, no one ignored it.
No one felt bored.
Although the attacks were honest and blunt, the massive power behind them could be felt.
Shh!
It came from the two swordsmen and was intense enough to make their skin tingle!
Bang!
Kwang! Kwang!
Chak! Chak!
They heard the sounds of the swords colliding, but there was also another sound in between.
It was the sound of the two of them affecting the surroundings. Cracks were forming on the ground, and it was as if an earthquake had occurred because the ground couldn’t withstand the impact.
As if there was a difference in strength, the ground on the right side was caved in.
But Quincy Myers didn’t stop there. Rather, he swung his sword more wildly. Then the Aura Sword gradually fell.
Rather than losing its strength, he increased its power by compressing the aura.
It was no exaggeration to say that it was a technique which used aura to the extreme and showed the essence of the Avilius swordsmanship.
“Haaa!”
Kwang!
But Airn, who confronted it, wasn’t defeated. The ground he was standing on was caved in.
The cracks were getting bigger, and now, he was receiving the attack.
Yet, he overcame it.
Even if he was being pushed, he didn’t step back.
That meant that Airn Pareira’s aura sword surpassed the ordinary Aura Sword.
The first to realize that was the Sword Master, Brudie Schaffer.
‘How!?’ he thought to himself.
He couldn’t believe it. No, he didn’t want to believe it.
He thought Quincy Myers would be strong. It wasn’t wrong since he could be called the 4th great swordsman on the continent.
He thought that it would be possible for him, who had a ridiculous aura, to refine it and hold it during battle.
But, it was possible for Airn Pareira as well?
Wasn’t he just 25?
“… sigh.”
What he felt wasn’t anger; it was confusion.
Yet he understood.
He realized why he withdrew earlier every time Airn warned him.
‘It is the difference in levels.’
Right now, at this moment. Brudie Schaffer was not a member of the Wise party, but a person who admired the two swordsmen's battle.
Kwaaang!
And after a while, the battle was over.
Was it a battle? All they had was an honest spar till the end.
However, everyone was surprised by it.
Ethan was practically drooling from his mouth.
“… you learned it a lot better than I thought. The swordsmanship of the Holy Kingdom.”
“Thank you.”
“Your control is good, but what of the aura directions? What happened with that?”
“I had some help from others.”
“What the…”
“Haha. To explain briefly… will be a little difficult.”
Airn smiled brightly. It was not a lie.
After realizing the sword of water, he took care of his other relationships.
To win their love, to win their hearts, to win their beliefs and reciprocate their feelings…
The energy accumulated through that process had formed a cycle.
And the ground had formed to contain it.
A tree had firmly taken roots on the ground and it had grown little by little and it made the current Airn.
It would take a long time to explain. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to.
They were close and his relationship was much deeper than just friendship. Airn couldn’t be reluctant to have a conversation with such a person.
And said,
“If you give me time, I will tell you what happened.”
“It is truly interesting, but now is not the time.”
“Uh?”
“Someone important wants to see you.”
Airn, along with everyone else who heard that was surprised.
Who was Quincy Myers?
The highest knight after Julius Hul and Ashrin Godeberta, the highest priest.
If this man was greedy, he could have unlimited power in his hand. But he was saying that there was a more important man than him?
No…
“The King is interested in seeing you.”
“…”
“He is a gentle person so he didn’t want to force you, but he’d like for you to accept the invitation.”
“Uh…”
Airn had a puzzled expression.
The Holy King.
As the most faithful servant of God, he had given up his own name and was the holiest of people.
Airn didn’t really know it since he was an outsider, but there was no one who could ignore the Holy King.
Airn’s mind burned with tension. Most of all, he wanted to handle the matter of Gael, and he wasn’t comfortable letting this man go.
Did he read his thoughts?
Quincy Myers asked.
“I heard there is something about the head of Wise merchants?”
‘Damn it.’
Gael’s expression worsened.
Things were a lot worse than he thought. Gulping, he lowered his gaze.
“… I understand.”
Airn nodded.
Quincy too nodded and looked back.
Anya Marta appeared from the crowd.
“Yap!” she suddenly shouted.
Ching!
And a golden portal opened.
Phew, Anya pretended to wipe sweat off her forehead and said,
“Come in, young lord Airn Pareira.”
“…”
“Why are you looking at me like this?”
“No, um…”
Was she 14 years old?
She wasn’t old enough to be more mature than before.
Airn mumbled and looked at the portal.
Several thoughts were running through his mind.
What was the reason the king wanted to see him?
How would he view what the head of the Wise guild did?
Was he really unaware of the evil deeds this man had done?
What did he think of the devils which were spreading?
What did he think of the people who were worse than the devil?
And…
“Stop thinking and just go.”
His thoughts were broken.
Vulcanus, who was next to him, patted him.
“The Holy King is in the capital of Avilius, right?”
“Yes.”
“Can I come with you? Walking is troublesome.”
“…”
“If you are reluctant to have a guest other than Airn, just drop me somewhere else.”
They were bold words, but Anya nodded her head.
“It is fine, probably.”
“Probably?”
“Yes. Because the King isn’t so particular ah, will those brothers and that sister come too?”
“Uh… us?”
Ethan looked puzzled when Anya nodded.
“Yes. Regardless of the number of people who enter, the price for the portal remains the same.”
It was because of the sorcery which needed gold.
Airn nodded and finally said to Quincy Myers.
“It was nice to see you.”
“Let’s meet again.”
“Then…”
With that, Airn entered the portal.
Vulcanus followed without hesitation followed by Jarin, Ethan, Giovanni and Kenan who slowly moved.
Woong!
And the portal closed.
Quincy Myers and Count Esteban and the Wise group were left standing there.
“Let’s do what we need to do.”
“…”
At the words of the old knight, Gael Wise’s complexion darkened.
At the same time.
In front of Airn Pareira, two figures appeared.