Chapter 1943

“As you can see, my armaments are very simple. The vanguard’s performance is directly related to the army’s morale. I think we should put forward a talented person who is capable of counterattacking without dying in vain from the enemy’s attacks…”

Kyle tried to look for Lord again, but stopped. His keen senses told him that the atmosphere around him was turning ominous.

These high treason sinners who dared to call the crown prince by name didn’t want to let the crown prince take his place within the vanguard. They were madmen who were difficult to deal with.

Asmophel, who betrayed his comrades out of jealousy, spoke shamelessly. “That’s why I’m leaving it to you. Since the Sword Saint is seriously wounded, you, the second strongest, will open up the battle by deflecting the enemy’s attacks.”

“Deflecting the enemy’s attacks…? The opponent is a dragon. If he shoots a Breath… How am I supposed to handle that? You are armed with excellent armor. Wouldn’t it be better if you took the lead?”

“Do you want me to lend you my armor?

“The armor that His Majesty gave to you…? You deserve to be punished!”

“……”

Why was he like this?

People thought that Kyle’s fear toward Grid had faded a bit because he insisted that Lord should be in the vanguard, but this wasn’t the case. The Overgeared members were starting to feel exhaustion creep in as they looked at Kyle.

“Kubartos deals with the energy of gold. Basically, he has the ability to control metal, so weapons like swords won’t work properly on him. His ability to turn the energy that touches the scales into metal neutralizes most ranged attacks.”

Kraugel kept resiliently persuading him.

“On the other hand, you have the advantage. Kyle, don’t you deal with lightning?”

“…I understand the Sword Saint’s opinion.”

Now that compatibility was being discussed, he couldn’t turn back from this conversation. Kyle swore in his mind, feeling a deep sense of despair.

Then Lord told him, “I will be right behind you.”

Asmophel frowned. Lord had just planned a strategy focusing on attacking from the rear. Yet Lord wanted to stand right behind the vanguard?

He was just about to tell Lord to take that back when Kyle nodded. “If that’s the case…”

“T-This guy really…”

Singuled, famously known for his hot temper, wanted to swear. However, it was hard for him because he remembered how he used to immaturely make fun of Kyle for being an electric eel.

Even if he did swear, the other person wouldn’t have been able to hear him anyway.

Kyle was already leaping forward. The madman barged into battle even though the formation hadn’t been set yet. Lord and the knights chased after him as cries of alarm rang out everywhere. All types of buffs hurriedly surrounded them.

Kraugel sat down cross-legged and muttered that this didn’t seem too bad. He was deep in thought while activating skills that increased his regeneration, trying to comprehend the intentions of the silent Kubartos as his colleagues were climbing toward the summit. He wondered if Kubartos was going to be patient and wipe them all out at once when they reached the entrance of the lair.

Thus, Kyle, overwhelmed by anxiety, immediately took action. He might have been eccentric, but he could read the flow of battle. He must have been wary of the same things as Kraugel.

‘He has such a peculiar personality, but there is a reason why Grid takes care of him.’

He couldn’t know for sure if Grid would still do that after finding out that Kyle wanted to use Lord as the vanguard but… Kraugel didn’t care about that.

A Breath was being fired.

It wasn’t aimed at the force that charged forward alongside Kyle. Instead, the attack targeted the entrance of the lair, where Kraugel was sitting in a cross-legged position. Kubartos did not want to give up that place for the Overgeared Guild’s follow-up troops to gather.

Kraugel rose to his feet and drew his sword. In addition, the backup troops who had just arrived at the summit were prepared to use their defensive skills.

“Don’t waste your energy.”

Lord’s clear voice stopped the group’s actions. He had slipped into Kyle’s shadow.

“Shadow Manipulation?”

Kyle’s face paled. He was rushing forward uncontrollably. It was like he was throwing himself at the Breath.

“It runs in the family…!”

Kyle created a lightning storm after this compliment (from Lord’s perspective). The Breath passing right by him was caught in the lightning, pausing for a bit.

Of course, it was only for a second. It briefly halted for a moment so brief that it could not be noticed unless the person had at least the hierarchy of a transcendent.

In that split second, Lord stabbed without hesitation. It was proof that he was transcendent. Lord’s talent was based on his lineage. As Grid grew, so did the value of his lineage. Moreover, Lord had been taught by the best teachers in each field. He gained experience and attained accomplishments by following in his father’s footsteps, so he was clearly classified as a super named NPC.

Lord surged from Kyle’s shadow and struck the Breath with the Pinnacle Revolve sword dance.

The Breath didn’t return to Kubartos. It fell in a straight line, collapsing on a ridge with an explosion, resulting in few casualties.

“Waah!”

“Lord-chan…”

People cheered in admiration while Damians’ eyes turned red.

Grid’s Sword Dance. Any member of the Overgeared God Church could learn it in exchange for faith and contribution. Those who called out ‘Grid’s Sword Dance’ could now be found frequently throughout the continent.

However, Lord’s sword dance was anything but ordinary. It didn’t just imitate Grid’s Sword Dance. It completely embodied it. He could feel the solidarity between father and son.

Damian was moved by the fact that Grid and Lord had been watching each other’s sword dances, even if they were together or not, for so many years.

The NPCs interpreted this state of unity a bit differently.

“The Sword Saint’s disciple…!”

A complete Divine Sword Unity. This meant that, one day, the prince would rise to be the next Sword Saint. The Knights, including Asmophel, were feeling overwhelmed with emotion.

‘Such is the inherent quality.’

Kraugel smiled slightly.

Lord threw the Dragon Harpoon. A long time ago, Grid had created a weapon specifically designed to hunt drakes. Lord had refined and evolved this weapon over the years to make it deadly to the entire dragon race. This harpoon was made by Lord, which proved that he displayed full understanding in utilizing Grid’s final design.

Yes, Lord was Grid’s child, no matter what anyone said. He might have been born in a different world, but he had inherited Grid’s technology and willpower.

The specific status of Sword Saint might become a part of Lord, but it couldn’t define him entirely. Lord was the Overgeared Prince. One could even say he was the Overgeared King Junior.

-Did someone just speak nonsense?

Kraugel’s thoughts transmitted an ominous sensation to Lauel, who was far away.

Meanwhile, Kubartos circled and dodged the Dragon Harpoon. At the same time, he cast magic that unleashed dozens of meteorites. As if conscious of Kyle, he started actively using offensive measures other than a Breath.

On top of each magic cast being very powerful, Kubartos used his attacks in the right place, at the right time. The Overgeared Guild shortly found themselves with their backs against the wall.

But just in time, Euphemina arrived at the summit.

“Leave the magic to us.”

The magicians of the magic tower, led by Laella and Zednos, chained and fused magic, following Euphemina’s directions. Once dozens of spells were fused together successfully, one of Kubartos’ spells was dismantled and neutralized.

Unfortunately, most magicians were unable to fulfill Euphemina’s orders, because her requests were happening way too fast. Because of this, Asmophel and the former Red Knights did their best to block or at least cut down some of the remaining spells.

Haster’s power was assisting them. The Red Sage class displayed surprisingly great synergy with the Red Knights. It felt as if it was the blessing of the previous generation Red Sage.

In fact, the former Red Knights knew how to utilize the power of the Red Sage well. For them, the sensation was similar to the deck effect that appeared in games. The more emotional a person felt, the more motivated they became. Haster expressed gratitude toward the former generation, believing that their souls were firmly behind him.

A wave of attacks unfolded.

The Overgeared members continued to climb to the top. Those who could fly tried to attack Kubartos, while those who couldn’t committed themselves to providing support from the rear. Eventually, several tower members joined in, and the attempts to attack the dragon’s weak points increased.

Nevertheless, pillars of ash rose up.

The only thing that Euphemina and the magicians could prevent was Kubartos’ magic and the landslides. There weren’t many people skilled enough to immediately carry out the orders of the tower members.

A significant number of Overgeared members were killed or seriously injured when they were grazed by Kubartos’ tail or claws.

“Mountains of corpses and blood flowing in rivers… We should retreat.”

“There is no retreat until His Majesty is saved.”

“But can’t he take care of himself…?”

High in the sky, Kyle was the busiest person. The golden dragon’s claws, which could’ve crushed dozens of people at a time, only grazed one or two people thanks to Kyle releasing lightning energy to paralyze the dragon’s scales.

Every time Kyle’s mana ran out, Kubartos slowed down for a moment. Then Lord would pop out of Kyle’s shadow and use swords, spears, poles, rods, bows, and even siege weapons to attack in this gap.

If Kubartos’ focused his magic on Kyle, Lord would use a shield to block it, though he wouldn’t forget to also throw the Dragon Harpoon, keeping the enemy in check.

A strategy to fight against the dragon was taking form, and every moment felt worthy of going down in history.

He should’ve taken pride in it, but Kyle’s whining only worsened.

“If you just needed a ride, why didn’t you bring a wyvern…?”

“You can’t ride a wyvern in front of a dragon unless it’s Sir Zibal we’re talking about.”

“What about a unicorn…? You know, your father has a unicorn.”

“Overgeared Corn hates me. I’ve always prided myself in the way animals love me, so even I find it unusual. Haha.”

“So you are treating a person like a horse… Is it a family custom?”

Like father, like son. Neither treated people as human beings.

Kyle lamented his situation, but he could only shake his head. Of course, Lord told Kyle that he wasn’t actually riding Kyle, he was just using the technique he’d learned from Kasim to infiltrate the shadows. To put it simply, he was almost one with Kyle, but there were limitations.

Kyle said with a serious expression, “I can sense a noticeable decrease in lightning energy. It might be different if this was the Overgeared World, but my mana is draining a lot faster than it’s recovering…”

“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”

Lord’s smile never wavered. Kyle was doing a lot more than he’d expected.

Kyle’s lightning was innate, like it was a part of his body, so it took less resources to wield this natural power in his case. The amount of mana he’d accumulated throughout his lifetime of training far exceeded what was deemed an average amount.

He released lightning energy for a long period of time. Thanks to this, Lord was about to pull out all the Dragon Harpoons he kept in his bag and scatter them in the air. The Dragon Harpoons were fixed to the sky thanks to gravity magic, making it so they could act as mines at any time.

“Let’s get a bit closer.”

“That’s crazy…”

Kyle had no authority to veto the request, since Shadow Manipulation moved his body against his will. Of course, Kyle could have fought back if he resisted with all his might. Unfortunately, he wasn’t that bold. The only thing left for him to do was complain.

Just then, Chris moved through the air and collided with Kubartos. He was using a dangerous movement technique, and it looked like he was throwing himself into death. He made it onto the tip of Kubartos’ nose and activated his ultimate technique.

“Shit!”

Kyle couldn’t help swearing. Golden eyes like the sun were sharply drawing closer to him. It was a bird’s eye view that made him feel like a dissected frog. His brain hurt from the immense pressure. At the thought of an unpredictable attack, he succumbed to fear and lost his sense of reason for a moment. He entered a complete Lightning God Transformation state.

His body lost its shape. Every single cell making up his body was being replaced by lightning energy. Even the shadows disappeared.

Lord’s body was kicked out of Kyle’s shadow.

“Your Highness!” Asmophel called out as he barely shook off one of Kubartos’ claws with the help of his knights.

“Light’s Blessing. Prayer of Reciprocity. Heavenly Meaning. Angel’s Trumpet.”

Lord cast and wrapped the buff spells he had learned from Damian around himself. This was the divine magic originating from the Rebecca Church that was hard to find these days.

Strangely enough, some of the magic that Damian had lost after leaving the Rebecca Church was fully responsive to Lord’s will.

[I wasn’t sure, but it is true.]

Kubartos, who had been silent since Lord arrived on the battlefield, finally spoke.

[You are the culprit of this whole situation.]

“Grid’s Sword Dance.”

[Rebecca’s hope.]

“Linked Kill Wave Pinnacle.”

[I am truly grateful to you.]

Two waterfalls of dark red blood spilled out.

One waterfall was made by Chris inserting his greatsword into Kubartos’ brow, while the other was created by Lord slashing at Kubartos’ front leg.

Kubartos’ eyes were fixed on Lord. The dragon grabbed him with his golden paws and slammed him into a nearby mountain peak.

***

[The effect of the title ‘First Father’ has detected Lord’s crisis.]

[Father’s Instinctive Love has been activated.]

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