Duke Vlad–no, Helenia’s only disciple, Arumbe–could see that his shards failed to reach his teacher’s arms. This was entirely out of his expectations.

Brod contributed the most to preventing his shards from moving forward. One look at the man, and Arumbe could tell that as long as Brod was alive, he would become a threat to his teacher even if she descended completely to the world.

Arumbe, who was in the form of Duke Vlad, slowly approached those blocking his shards. None of them suspected him. After all, with the current situation that they were in, it wouldn’t make sense for the two empires to fight just because they had been at war before. And because of that, Vlad could freely slash the unguarded Brod’s chest.

Blood spurted out of Brod’s chest. Although it was just one slash, it was enough to inflict a severe injury upon the man. Everything happened so fast that even Minhyuk and Alexander were still unaware of the fact that Brod was already vomiting blood beside them.

Minhyuk, who finally realized what was happening beside them, saw Duke Vlad stabbing the staggering Brod in the abdomen.

Duke Vlad pulled his sword just as quickly and slashed Brod’s body non-stop.

It must be known that Duke Vlad was most likely on par with Brod in terms of strength and power. There was also the fact that a person who was inflicted with a severe injury and was stabbed in the abdomen at the same time would have no way to evade whatever attack came their way. It wouldn’t matter how strong one was; that would still be the outcome.

Duke Vlad kicked the stumbling Brod away. With Brod gone in the equation, the shards swarmed and pressed Minhyuk and Alexander harder. The two tried their hardest to stop the shards with their skills, but it was not enough.

The worst part? Minhyuk was forced to an impasse. He could not make a choice. If he ran to where Brod was, then the shards would pour inside the fortress. But if he did not go there, then Brod might die.

Then, at that moment, Duke Vlad shouted, “Finally! The chance to kill the puny emperor and his vassals that go against Emperor Nerva has come!”

Duke Vlad turned to look at the Swords of the Gods. “Quick! Attack the Beyond the Heavens’ Emperor and kill him! Stop the shards after killing him!”

The two empires were definitely at war. However, the Swords of the Gods could not move despite the orders that they received.

Minhyuk, looking at the shards still charging forward, thought,

Did he want to retaliate against them in this situation? That did not make sense at all. Even the Luvien Empire would be in danger if Helenia descended with her full powers in this world.

“Idiots! This is His Majesty Nerva’s chance to rise, sit on the throne, and become the true Battle God. As long as His Majesty Nerva becomes the Battle God, he could stop Helenia even if she came here at full power!” Duke Vlad blabbered, wrapping his reckless and unreasonable actions as if they were for the sake of Nerva.

Then, Duke Vlad walked toward the fallen Brod.

Minhyuk’s expression grew ugly. Brod was one of the people that he cherished and loved. The thought of something happening to him here broke his concentration for a brief moment. Because of that, his balance broke off, and some of the shards’ attacks hit him.

The reason why Minhyuk was having a hard time dealing with the shards was because the Slaughterer’s Absorption could not be triggered no matter how many of them he killed. After all, they were already dead and were only resurrected.

Fortunately, Minhyuk could quickly regain his balance, his sword swinging swiftly to deal with the shards in front of him again.

Minhyuk felt highly disappointed and frustrated with himself at the moment. He wanted to protect Brod but could not even move away from this place.

When Minhyuk glanced back, he saw Brod staggering on his feet. However, he knew Brod as a powerful man, and that one look made him realize that Brod would not be able to endure for long.

Someone standing among the Swords of the Gods stepped forward at that moment.

***Brod’s entire body felt heavy while his chest and abdomen, which had been cut and stabbed, were burning hot. The strength in his hand holding onto his sword was already lost, and his legs buckled under his weight. However, he did his best to grip his sword tightly and stand up again.

The glint came back to Brod’s eyes. His emperor had strictly ordered him not to come to this place. But he defied those orders and went here anyway. And he was going to die just like that? That should not happen. The thought of his emperor grieving was enough for Brod to stand up again.

That would be completely irresponsible. Brod exhaled roughly as he used his sword to help him stand up. The situation was extremely dire. He could see that his emperor was also suffering from several injuries all over his body. Even the powerful Alexander seemed to be in a very dire and desperate situation. That was why Brod could not fall here. Slowly, strength returned to his limbs.

Duke Vlad, who watched the man, was frankly impressed.

He had stabbed the man at a vital point, yet here he was, surprising him and standing up on his own once again. It also made Duke Vlad realize,

If he did not do that, this man would later be a threat to Helenia.

The two clashed several times. And in their confrontation, Duke Vlad was left shocked.

Goosebumps rose all over his skin when he realized how amazing Brod was. Although he looked like he had already lost his strength and was running on fumes, Brod could still accurately target Duke Vlad’s vital points. Not only that, he could also easily block Vlad’s attacks.

Duke Vlad raised his empty hand and cast upon Brod. Vlad did not miss the opportunity and swiftly slashed Brod, whose movements had slowed down, on the shoulder.

Duke Vlad chuckled viciously when he heard the sound of Brod’s bone and flesh being torn apart. The laughter sounded like the laughter of a vicious clown. But then, Duke Vlad heard Brod say, “It’s magic.”

Brod’s voice still sounded lively despite a deep sword in his shoulder. Only at that moment did Duke Vlad realize that something was wrong. Brod, who was supposed to be dying and whose shoulder was supposed to be rendered useless, was still alive and well.“Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship.”

Vlad’s expression twisted when he heard Brod’s words.

“Wolf King’s Hunt.”

Blood spurted out from Duke Vlad’s body as a strong wolf emerged and ripped him apart with its fangs.

“Kghhk!” Duke Vlad groaned, shocked and appalled by the unimaginable damage he had received.

However, Duke Vlad believed that even if Brod could inflict such massive damage on him with his Wolf King’s Hunt, it would be tough for him to move correctly from this point on.

But Brod was walking. He took one step, two… three steps, and said, “Who are you?”

The moment Brod reached Duke Vlad, he raised his sword and tried to stab his heart with a sword.

Vlad had only felt fear once in his life. And that was when he saw Helenia’s wrath. From what it looked like, this was the second time he would experience that wrath. However, Duke Vlad moved a step faster than Brod and could evade the sword that was about to pierce through his heart.

A massive explosion erupted right in front of Brod. The magic of the same name, Explosion, caused this explosion. The problem was that it was completely different from the ordinary Explosion. This Explosion condensed the explosive power of the magic and reduced its radius to inflict much more significant damage.

“Ugh!” Brod groaned, blood dripping down his body as he was sent flying back by the aftermath of the explosion.

A grotesque smile appeared on Duke Vlad’s face.

Helenia did not have or want any disciples. However, she accepted Arumbe because he was an unusual man. Arumbe was born into a noble and prestigious swordsmanship family. He was even praised as his family’s greatest swordsman. But surprisingly enough, he was also a genius in magic.

It was not easy for someone to be talented in magic and the sword. It was mainly because magic was complicated to master. However, born as a genius in both fields, Arumbe used both his swordsmanship and magic appropriately and was reborn as a That was right. Not only did Arumbe, or Duke Vlad, possess swordsmanship on par with Duke Ruffiso, but he also had a firm grasp on magic.

Brod, whose entire body was covered with blood, stood up once again. But Duke Vlad? He raised his hand and said, “Bang!”

Another explosion sent Brod flying back. The condition of Brod’s body was utterly terrible now. However, despite his battered body, he still stood up with the support of his sword.

“Bang.”

Brod was sent flying back with another explosion. This time, he vomited a mouthful of blood. Even so, he still stood back up.

“Bang– Bang, bang, bang, bang– Bang, bang, bang, bang.”

Duke Vlad sent Explosions non-stop as if he were just playing with Brod.

The continuous explosions charred Brod’s entire body.

Nevertheless, he still raised his charred hands to hold his sword and support his body. Brod, who was forced to kneel with his bleeding and battered body, turned to look back at Minhyuk.

“BROOOOOOOD!!!” Minhyuk shouted anxiously.

At this moment, Brod felt like he was the most pathetic vassal in the world. Not only did he defy his emperor’s orders, but he even made him sad.

Duke Vlad looked like he was finally bored playing around with Brod. He said, “There’s still a lot to be done.”

He needed to kill not only Brod but also Minhyuk and Alexander. So, he raised his hand. A black flame appeared at the tip of his fingers. This was a magic that only a select few mages could cast.

The tiny spark, which looked like a simple Explosion, flew toward Brod with a wave of Vlad’s hands.

“Hmm…?” Duke Vlad hummed as he felt his blood spurt from his back after releasing the Hellfire at Brod.

Brod, who looked at the approaching Hellfire, felt infinitely sad at the thought of leaving Minhyuk in grief. But then, someone approached him, who had fallen on the ground, and protected him in their embrace.

“Sorry.”

A familiar voice rang in Brod’s ears. This voice belonged to the person who took away his precious comrades and knights—the one who made Brod live with anger toward him for the rest of his life. Brod had made a vow to kill this man one day and make him pay for his crimes. And now, this man, the object of his anger, appeared right before him.

When he moved away from Brod, his left arm had disappeared. It was devoured and melted away by the Hellfire flying toward the man he embraced and protected.He knew that Brod would not forgive him. He knew that they could no longer be friends, and he knew that Brod wanted to kill him. But perhaps he stepped forward because of the will that his precious and dear vassal had left behind.

But even though his vassal wished for it, Nerva could not smile or laugh. He stared at Brod before slowly turning around.

The most vicious and greedy emperor of the greatest and most powerful empire in Athenae tore his clothes apart. Then, using his teeth, he pulled the cloth and tied the stump left behind on his left arm to stop it from bleeding. Then, he picked up his sword and walked to where Duke Vlad was.