Chapter 180 Steel Sharpens Steel 7

At his swing a brilliant sword beam that spanned over 50 meters soared through the sky, carving up the heavens as it moved to end the tyrannical Lord of the Desert.

The ancient being of old looked like five moving mountains connected together. Its arms and legs were already large enough to have ecosystems in them connected to an even larger chunk of rock that formed its torso.

The Lord of the desert raised its right hand which was absolutely massive and raced and the light of [Revenge Strike] smashed into an invisible wall before its palm.

Caliber energy which made the entire tremble continued to push against the transparent defenses of the monster monarch. The scale and magnitude of the power dwarfed all battles before it.

Hiro who still held the sword made of pure light gave his all to penetrate his enemy. "OOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" roaring his passion additional energies added to the blade beam which got thicker as it increased in strength!

Eventually, the Lord of the deserts robust defenses broke and the [Revenge Strike] blasted the titan on the shoulder. The power seemingly unstoppable continued into the sky till it vanished.

The Lord of the Desert's face scrunched up in annoyance and roared!

- You grow too arrogant brat! I squish you to the ground! -

The San-Baka and Tsugumi who heard the screams grew terrified.

"WOW! Nii-sama is just too awesome! Did you guys see that? And my word such a large thing talks?"

"Even an Exc*lib*r to the face failed to put a dent in it. Maybe we need to call the king of heroes?"

"Geo, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Look sharp, we have a hundred thirty-meter giant snakes, over 1500 fifteen-meter warrior ants, a thirty-meter ant queen, and thirty-meter desert dragons. Did I forget to mention we also have ten fifty-meter spiders?"

"Aurum, we fought with worse alone. Geo direct us."

At the behest of Lars, the Son of Renacida then made plans. The most difficult thing in large scale combat was the assignment of troops. As you are fighting on multiple fronts failure to properly estimate the strength of both your own and the opponent's forces may lead to catastrophic loses if done poorly.

After a few seconds of internally debating with [Master Tactician] Geo finally said his chosen form of tactics.

"I will take care of the warrior ants, Lady Tsugumi will annihilate the Goliath dragon eaters as fast as possible. Aurum will need to take care of the ant queen. Lars takes the Jormungandr and the desert dragon lords."

Tsugumi expressed her worry as she remarked. "Eh? Will Lars be able to take care of so many?"

"He has to, Aurum would be barely able to take on the Ant queen alone. Lady Tsugumi, this battle is a race against time. And hinges on you and me. We need to finish our opponents as soon as possible."

"Ehh? Why do you say that."

"I used master's [Inspect] skills on the Antlion Queen, she will kill Aurum if given enough time. He needs to be able to focus alone on her."

Geo then explained by painting a grim picture of what they now faced. "So the three of us need to prevent any of them from attacking him. We need to kill them as soon as possible to tip the battles in our favor. If we take too long and Aurum dies we will all soon follow."

The son of Renacida faced his black-haired friend and held his shoulder. "Lars, can you do it? You would have the hardest battle here. Only Lady Tsugumi can kill the Goliath dragoneaters and I lack the AGI to survive an assault from 100 Jormungandrs."

Understanding his role, the black-haired warrior nodded his head as he coated his body in spirit. As he ran towards the battleground he murmured under his breath. "Guys, watch over me."

Unsure if he is worthy enough to hold such a responsibility silence and hopelessness started to envelop the four. The one to break it came from a deep sigh from the noble fencer. "Lars can do It. I believe in him. Let's go. I just need to dance with that bitch right?"

Aurum then covered himself in his Aura Heavy Armor and catapulted himself to the Hercules Antlion Queen. Tsugumi then smiled as she placed her hand on the assassin's shoulder. "I know you won't let us down. I will come as soon as I can." A sword construct then appeared and Tsugumi got on it like a surfboard.

Then she moved towards the sky soaring to the 50-meter hulking behemoth spiders. Geo didn't say anything but ran full speed towards the Hercules Warrior Antlions. Lars who just relieved himself of his guilt and trauma felt both burdened and elated by the trust placed in him.

Meanwhile, Hiro looked back to Alan with a bloodthirsty smile. "Srayver, tell your prince this. I allow him to take credit in clearing these flatlands of monsters on the condition he returns my women unharmed. I will kill one of his wives for each of mine that is injured. If by the time I return, they are not waiting for me. I will raze Partisan to the ground."

The string of sentences made Alan's blood turn cold "But Hiro-sama, I do not have the peerage to talk to him. It might now work". Hiro who heard the pathetic excuse started to envelope himself in Calibers, causing the Merchant and the escorts to all hyperventilate.

Like a king dominating over his subjects, the Wolfen butcher radiated blood lust as he prepared himself for battle after a long while. "What do you want?"

Alan who started to feel faint from the pressure forced his intention out of his mouth. "Let… me be your sole representative permanently… I will swear an oath… You will let me borrow your name whenever I need it."

Hiro who watched the man grovel on his seat felt the caravan slow to the crawl. Similar to the people, the horses started to crumble under his pressure. While Alan's caravan had enough horses to switch, none of them could withstand the Calibers of a high-level-adept.

"You seem to think I need you for any of this Srayver. What makes you think I won't just kill you and find another?"

Alan then bowed his head as the pressure on his head doubled. Aware that he angered the monster in front of him due to his brazenness he explain the only way he knew how. By highlighting the mutual benefit they stood to gain. Due to his insistence to fight against the pressure, his eyes got bloodshot and blood came out of his mouth as he mustered all his strength to talk.

"My lord… Your majesty is undeniable… Your charisma…power…strength of will… you will crush my kings… yet you seek something higher… more will flock to your cause.. The nations will fall before you…I see….if I follow… I will rise with you… this chance… I will grab will my all… I lack backing… son of whore…I..loyal…ask for protection…please… give me…cough… chance."

Hiro grew amazed at the tenacity of the merchant. Just like him, he wish to rise higher, and like most, he tried to make the best of his situation. The pressure he inflicted already collapsed one of the man's lungs, ripped apart his arms from their sockets, and ruptured most of his internal organs.

Yet the light in Alan Srayver's eyes never dimmed. Hiro did not believe that people were inherently good. After his two lives, only a few gained his respect. Alan's eyes however told him the man would die if he completed his goals. And such men were exceedingly rare, so long as their reasons aligned with yours they would never stray.