Chapter 233: The Realm of Myths (2)

“F*ck! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

Unable to bear it any longer, Duke Florian shouted at him.

“What do you mean? Aren’t I beating you?”

“......”

For a second, Duke Florian had nothing to say when Barron responded so assertively.

“And you guys are getting beaten.”

Duke Sebastian clenched his jaw when he heard Barron’s continuing words. Then, he spoke.

“Don’t you think your fighting methods are brutish and have no dignity? If you claim to be the strongest man in your country…”

“Pft...”

Before Duke Sebastian could even finish talking, Barron began to laugh out loud.

“Dignity… dignity on the battlefield? I’m sorry. I’ve been fighting in wars for over 30 years, but I’ve never heard anything more absurd than that.”

Duke Sebastian’s face flushed when Barron sneered at him. To that, Marquis Gotham had something to add.

“Are you going against the knight’s code? Blaspheme chivalry?”

Different from his usual gentle attitude, Marquis Gotham’s voice held great anger. However…

“I am a Republican. Of course, I don’t believe in something like chivalry or a knight’s code. What are you going to do about it?”

“......”

Come to think of it, he wasn’t wrong. The Republic didn’t recognize a system based on social standing. Of course, they wouldn’t recognize knighthood either.

“And, from what I understand, I don’t think you have the right to be talking about a knight’s code when you attack me, three to one. Or am I wrong?”

“......”

Everything Barron was saying was right. Although he was honest to a fault, he was surprisingly good at talking.

“Then, let’s continue. I’m going to kill all of you and then see just how good this Duke Schweiker is.”

“Kugh…”

“Do not underestimate us!”

The three Masters dug deep and found their will to fight. They attacked Barron. However, their opponent was too strong to fight with their damaged bodies. They fought desperately but couldn’t last much more than 50 exchanges. 

Marquis Gotham was the first to fall after the 50th exchange, with Duke Florian following right after. Duke Sebastian struggled till the very end and went beyond his usual abilities, but his abilities had a limit. He swung his sword with the intent to have Barron die with him, but in the end, it only resulted in a small scratch on Barron’s face. 

“Guh… Kill me.”

Duke Sebastian collapsed. He gritted his teeth as he looked at Barron. 

“You don’t need to ask me. I was going to do it anyway.’

Barron drew his sword and approached Duke Sebastian to finish him off. But then…

Thud!

A spear flew and struck the earth right in front of Barron’s foot. 

When Barron turned to look at who threw the spear, he saw the person he had wanted see the most.

“Fortunately, I’m not too late.”

“Ah… So it seems.”

Barron grinned, his teeth fully visible.

It was the first time they were actually meeting each other, but they were able to recognize each other instantly. They knew who the other person was.

“Christian Schweiker.”

“Barron of the Republic. Am I correct?”

Right after their introductions ended, their figures seemed to blur…

CLANG!

It was such a loud ringing sound that everyone on the battlefield heard it. In a blink of an eye, Barron and Schweiker were facing each other. They looked at each other as they spoke.

“I was so eager to meet you.”

“I concur the same sentiments.”

Neither of them had an opponent. Both of them found an opponent. Both of them were strong men. Both of them had waited for this moment more desperately than if they wanted to see their beloved. They finally clashed.

Everyone watching this fight realized something. Today, at this very moment, was a fight that would determine who the strongest person on the continent was.

***

“...My god.”

“No way.”

“How could a human being do that?”

Those watching the fight between Barron and Schweiker were stunned.

Once the two began to clash against each other, Antras quickly ordered for the three fallen Masters to be retrieved. That order was well timed. If he told them to ‘go over there’ now, then it was no different from him telling them to go commit suicide.

ClangClangClangClangClangClang...

With Duke Schweiker and General Barron fighting in the center, about 50 meters around them became inaccessible to the others due to the shockwaves that happened every time they met and the wreckage left behind by the stray Auras.

Before they realized it, both armies had stopped fighting and were focused on the fight between the two of them. No, rather, would it even mean anything for them to be fighting in a war right now? Even if the soldiers fought amongst themselves and one side won, if either one of those monsters won, then the situation would be reversed immediately.

The level of power that Schweiker and Barron were currently showing was perfectly capable of doing just that. The clash between the two of them was going beyond mere human levels. It was reaching the realm of myths.

“If they have that kind of strength, why would they fight against us…”

Watching Barron’s might in action, Duke Sebastian was beyond feeling the hopelessness of defeat, he was feeling pure admiration. What he was currently looking at were men who had gone beyond a human’s limits and had reached their zenith. The two of them had reached the peak that anyone who held a sword in their hands wanted to reach.

When he realized that he had talked about ‘dignity’ in front of such a person, Duke Sebastian felt his face turning red.

‘What a disgraceful thing I’ve done in the last years of my life.’

Seeing Duke Sebastian sighing next to him, Antras spoke.

“He most likely wasn’t that strong when he was dealing with you.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“This really is a fight between a dragon and a tiger, a fight between titans. It’ll be dangerous if it continues like this.”

“Are you saying that Schweiker, my disciple, will lose?”

“No. It’s not a question of winning or losing. If… If it continues…”

Antras couldn’t hide his anxiety. 

Even if he wasn’t a warrior himself, he seemed to know how this fight would end. The only reason he had an idea how this would end was because he had once seen a fight of a similar level to this.

He had seen something like this in the final battle between the Tiger King Jayhan and his father, General Lee Myung. At that time, Antras had made a plan to annihilate the Ha Nation’s elite forces between the two armies as long as his father bought him some time by fighting against the Tiger King. But the problem was, both his adoptive father, General Lee Myung, and the Tiger King Jayhan were too strong. They were too evenly matched. He had thought up countless strategies, but he never thought something like that would happen.

And right now, even if he had known there was a possibility of this happening, there still wasn’t anything he could do.

“Is there no way to stop this?”

Antras spoke urgently to Duke Sebastina, but the duke merely shook his head.

“That’s impossible. We can only hope that Christian wins.”

Even Duke Sebastian didn’t dare to intervene. And it wasn’t because he was injured; he would have given Antras the same answer even if he was in the best condition. Both Barron and Duke Schweiker had reached a completely different level from himself.

“Don’t worry. My disciple has never let me down. I’m sure he’ll win.”

“......”

Antras couldn’t bring himself to respond.

‘It’s not about winning or losing…’

Duke Schweiker and General Barron felt strange. At first, they felt competitive. They had heard more than enough rumors about the other person. They were both strong men who had grown lonely without any opponents. They had finally met on the battlefield and realized that the man standing in front of them may satisfy their thirst for an opponent.

From then, the two of them had done their best to beat the other. How long had it been since they had been able to give it their all?

As if they were wanderers who found an oasis in the endless desert, they became satisfied. They admired the other every time they exchanged blows, and as the fight continued, they realized that the other was getting stronger. 

Both of them had been stuck for nearly a decade but now, they were finally able to overcome the wall and reach a new point. They trembled with joy.

How long had they been longing for this moment? When they finally broke free of the shells that had been confining them and spread their wings, both of them felt the utmost respect for the other.

All thoughts of evaluating, reputation and even the outcome of the war were gone from their heads. They just continued to fight each other, hoping that this moment would never end.

A higher level…

An even higher peak than they were at right now…

Both of them felt like stairs from the heavens had come down in front of them. The stairs that they had never been able to reach alone were now calling for them.

Hurry, come on up.

We approve of you rising to the realm of the gods.

The two of them were steeped in their desire to rise and soon transcended.

***

“H… Huh?”

“What’s that?”

In the midst of the battlefield, everyone became shocked. The sky had opened up in front of everyone. With a dazzling light, vague figures of heavenly beings appeared in the sky.

The scene was both magnificent and divine. Without even realizing it, most of the men fell to the ground and worshiped the heavenly presence.

“So it ended up like this.”

Antras murmured to himself.

“Antras, what is going on? Just what on earth is going on here?”

He smiled bitterly at Duke Sebastian’s question. 

“They’ve transcended. By attaining the Sword Tao, they’ve left behind their humanly bodies.”

“What?”

“It’s called ‘ascension’ in the Southern continent. It’s when remarkable human beings or mythical creatures who have performed asceticism for hundreds and thousands of years ascend to heaven. It’s a glorious and divine thing.”

“......”

“But right now, we’re at war and we’ve lost our strongest strength to heaven. Back then, my father and the Tiger King also… damn it!”

Antras couldn’t get over his anger and broke his fan while cursing. 

Before they knew it, the shining light in the sky disappeared and Duke Christian Schweiker and Barron were standing proudly with their swords.  But Antras knew that what stood in front of him were just their bodies. Their souls had already risen to heaven. In the past, Antras hadn’t understood this when it had happened with the Tiger King and Lee Myung. That was why he had people recover his father’s body.

But this time, it was different. Mankind always shows a better performance the second time around. 

“Imperial Army! Attack!”

Antras decided to use the fact he had more soldiers to wipe out the 100,000 Republican troops.

Now that this had happened, he had to achieve his original goal. In other words, the Republican Army had to be defeated before the Lester Kingdom’s army joined them.

“Wahhhhh!!”

“All troops, charge!”

Even if he had lost Duke Christian Schweiker, the Republic’s Barron had also disappeared. That meant that even without the power difference between Masters, the Imperial Army could overwhelm the Republican Army just based on sheer quality and quantity of the troops.

Led by Barron, the Republican Army[1] attacked the Imperial Army. And even if they lost Barron, the Republican Army continued to fight back like the elite force they were.

“Follow the General!”

“Barron, the great hero of the Republic!!”

“Oohhhhhhhh!!”

It was a battle that took out all strategic elements and fought completely with pure manpower. It was obvious that this would give the Empire an overwhelming advantage but the Republican soldiers fought bravely. Every last one of them fought to their deaths.

***

Later on, history will talk about this battle as the Holy day in which two great heroes reached the realm of myths. But, simultaneously, it would also be known as the Cursed day in which a combination of 200,000 casualties turned the ground red. 

1. The raws had it as the Imperial Army, but I think it’s a typo and fixed it accordingly.