Chapter 126: A Realm No One Can Encroach

Duke Alito’s expression crumpled mercilessly.

“You dare to obstruct my grand achievement until the very end! But coming alone! Do you think you can contend with them?”

Beside Duke Alito stood not only the 5th Circle Mage Frace, but also two Swordmasters.

Although Frace’s mana had been considerably depleted, the two Swordmasters alone could withstand the knights even if they stormed in.

Next to him, Harold and Parcian looked tense, their faces taut.

Of course, Duke Alito had no idea why.

“Would you kindly keep your mouth shut.”

“What did you say? Who are you speaking to like that!”

“I said shut it! You may see them as just some Third Prince, but to us, they were opponents we barely survived against.”

“…What do you mean?”

The composure they had displayed just moments ago was nowhere to be found.

Harold’s explanation deepened the furrows on Duke Alito’s brow.

“You’re saying our two sworn enemies are that person!”

“The Third Prince?”

“Ahhh! Quiet! Harold! Shut that duke’s mouth first!”

Parcian’s nerves were on edge, standing on end like spikes.

It was quiet, but Raion radiated a heavy killing intent from head to toe.

Harold and Parcian were crushed under the immense pressure.

“As Parcian said, the duke should remain silent.”

“What on earth is all this about the Third Prince!”

“At the very least… the Grand Master.”

“…That’s impossible!”

“They said Duke Alito Kright’s wisdom could encompass the kingdom. I suppose it was all a lie! To think he couldn’t recognize that person’s power right in front of him.”

“That’s a lie! The Third Prince as a Grand Master! Impossible!”

Amid their conversation, Raion let out a laugh.

At the low, grounded sound of his laughter, Harold and Parcian swallowed hard.

“Alito Kright.”

“Third Prince! My crimes may be evident, but you cannot just speak my name!”

“Truly laughable. You still don’t realize how foolish you’ve become.”

“Are you insulting me, a chancellor and duke of the kingdom?!”

“You didn’t even realize I had been hiding my eyes from you all this time, did you!”

“What….”

Duke Alito Kright was meticulous and cunning.

A man like that had been growing wealthy by turning the Canel Kingdom’s tax revenue into his own fortune.

No one, not even King Laskan, could stop him.

That was why Raion had devised a grand plan, stemming from a future he had once passed through, and the past life of Kang Inhyuk who had lived on 21st-century Earth.

A plan no one could even imagine.

“You still don’t understand, even after what you did to His Majesty the King?”

“Method?”

“You didn’t hide what was happening in your territories, did you? And by the time it was discovered, it was too late…”

“You’ve been hiding your strength all this time to avoid being caught by me!”

“Now you understand. Let me show you my power firsthand!”

Whoooosh—!

Raion reinforced the aura laced with lethal intent radiating from his entire body.

The force that had been flowing around Duke Alito grew rougher as he tried to dodge it.

“Grrr—! H-How is this possible…?”

Such pressure could inflict massive damage on anyone untrained.

Duke Alito groaned, dropping to one knee.

“Can you feel my power, even just a little?”

“How long have you even been learning swordsmanship!”

“Perhaps you fail to realize that your talent is inferior even to your own grandchildren.”

“Unbelievable! Grrr!”

In his fury, the oppressive aura intensified, constricting him further.

Seeing this, Raion thrust his sword forward with his right hand.

“Now, I will face you.”

“Ugh… You orchestrated this situation yourself, didn’t you?”

“…Is that so?”

“So we’ve been completely trapped.”

“Harold, don’t give up! This time, we must—!”

“Look, wasn’t it impossible last time as well?”

“But…”

Parcian’s gaze shifted toward Frace standing beside Duke Alito.

Knowing he was a 5th Circle Mage, a viable strategy came to mind.

“You! Can you fight alongside us?”

“Are you asking me to cooperate?”

“The opponent is at least Grand Master-level. With your help, we might stand a chance!”

“If we’re caught by the Third Prince, we’ll likely die. I find it hard to believe he’s a Grand Master, but if your skills are genuine, it’s possible.”

Frace Therondia raised his staff and traced a spell with his free hand.

“Haste!”

With the spell, two lights flowed into Harold and Parcian’s bodies.

It was Haste, a 4th Circle auxiliary magic.

At the same time, they felt enhanced strength and nodded in acknowledgment.

“If you can’t endure, you’ll die. Let’s try again.”

“I won’t die! Stay sharp, too!”

Harold and Parcian drew their swords and charged forward.

Already, blue auras gathered around their blades.

Shuaaaak! Shuak! Shuuh—!

Sharp sword energy flew rapidly, aiming for Raion’s neck.

‘Have they trained since last time?’

Raion lightly dodged their attacks and leapt backward.

At the same time, Parcian slammed the daggers in both hands into the ground.

“You won’t dodge this easily in midair!”

“Is that so?”

Raion twisted his body midair and delivered a kick.

Startled, Parcian hurried to change the trajectory of his daggers—but it was too late.

Thud—!

Raion’s midair kick landed as he touched the ground and intercepted Harold’s sword.

Whoooosh—! Kaaang!

“How can you attack like that?”

“Surprised by a technique you’ve never seen?”

“I’ve never seen this even in the Empire.”

Though Harold’s face remained calm, inside he was astonished.

Parcian adjusted his stance and leaped toward Raion’s back.

“Eek!”

Raion lightly dodged and kicked him again.

Parcian, struck directly by the spinning kick, flew into the forest and smashed onto a tree.

Thud―! Bang! Crack!

“Guhk!”

“Parcian! Attack calmly! This one reads all our moves!”

“Who doesn’t know that!”

“He hasn’t even used aura yet!”

“Th-That’s…!”

Blue aura had already been accumulating on Harold and Parcian’s weapons for some time.

In contrast, Raion’s sword had no aura at all, not even a speck of dust.

Until now, he had toyed with them purely through technique.

“Flare!”

At that moment, Frace, who had been waiting for an opening, shouted a spell.

A large ball of fire formed in front of him and moved swiftly.

“No matter how skilled the Swordmasters are, they won’t easily withstand a 4th Circle spell!”

Simultaneously, Harold and Parcian moved as well.

They aimed for the moment Raion would try to block or dodge the 4th Circle fire spell, Flare.

A simple, obvious move—but dangerous given a 5th Circle Mage and two Swordmasters.

‘He does think things through, at least.’

Raion swung his sword toward the Flare.

At that moment, Frace’s shrill shout erupted.

“You can’t cut magic with an ordinary sword…!”

Shraaaak!

The fireball Flare split on Raion’s sword and scattered into the air.

It was thanks to the Decomposition (分解) spell.

Seeing this, Harold and Parcian, who had been about to attack alongside Frace, froze.

“A magical sword?”

Again, no aura had been used.

With their attack opportunity gone, their expressions grew more ferocious.

“We can’t just take this! Wind Cutter!”

Along with the spell, an incantation was shouted.

The might of a 5th Circle Mage manifested.

Sharp wind blades formed around them.

The surrounding ‘Wind Cutter’ surged forward like a tidal wave.

“Are you attacking us too?!”

“There’s no time to distinguish between us!”

With Frace’s shout, the speed of the ‘Wind Cutter’ increased further.

Chachang! Shraaaak! Shraak!

Meanwhile, Raion’s sword moved as if disappearing, slicing through the blades one by one.

Harold and Parcian did the same, unable to rush Raion directly, dodging or blocking the wind blades while searching for an opening.

“Damn it!”

“Watch out!”

Harold swung his heavy sword to sweep away the ‘Wind Cutter’ and rushed forward.

Blue aura had deepened on his sword.

He aimed for Raion’s neck as Raion swept away the clustered ‘Wind Cutter’.

At that moment, Raion’s gaze shifted, meeting Harold’s eyes.

‘That’s a trick too.’

For the first time, Raion drew out his aura.

But the color was no longer blue—it glowed as a pure white stream.

“As expected…! A Grand Master!”

“Think what you will.”

Shraaaak! Chachang! Chachachang!

Harold couldn’t clash directly; he brushed past and stepped aside.

The opportunity he thought was perfect had been a trap.

The white aura Raion emitted cut through the air, sweeping away all of Frace’s ‘Wind Cutter’.

“So he really is a Grand Master…?”

By wizard standards, he had surpassed the 5th Circle.

Frace could only spit out disbelief.

“Dieee—!”

Unable to accept the current situation, Parcian explosively drew up his aura, tracing a net-like pattern with the daggers in both hands.

Chachaak! Chachachachak!

It was his daggersmanship secret.

But the newly radiated white aura, like the rising sun, blocked him.

Shwaaaak!

The white streams seemed to engulf the blue aura.

Parcian’s face soon turned pale.

“H-How…?”

“Thunder… Crush!”

Seizing a brief opening, Frace poured all his mana into a 5th Circle lightning spell.

Lightning thicker than swords erupted in all directions.

But it swiftly veered toward Raion.

At the same time, Harold saw his final chance.

“Arrogance will let me turn the tide!”

“Die!”

Shouts from Frace and Harold echoed through the forest.

In front were dozens of lightning strands, and behind, Harold’s giant blue sword formed from aura.

Pzzzzzt! Shraaaak―!

It was an instant.

‘He really does think things through.’

Raion’s sword moved.

The white aura split like lightning along the blade.

Shwaaaak!

In one horizontal sweep, the white lightning aura erupted in all directions.

The surroundings were swallowed whole.

Frace’s 5th Circle ‘Thunder Crush’ was obliterated, and Harold’s sword, along with part of his upper body, split in two and fell to the ground.

Thud……!

It wasn’t just the sword.

Harold’s upper body, unable to block the attack, fell like his weapon.

“H-Harold!”

Parcian rushed to Harold, who lay on the ground, but it was already too late.

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