Chapter 442

Chapter 442

“Kyuu?”

The cute furry hamster tilted its head and looked around with a confused expression.

‘Where am I? Who am I?’.

“A h-hamster...?”

“What...?”

“Hmm... I think I’ve been tired lately... I’m starting to see things now...”

The nobles couldn't adjust to the fact that a hamster was inside the wooden chest.

Then, one of the nobles snickered and made a joke, “Duke Undertaker was a hamster all along? Keke!”

Every single one of them expected to see Duke Undertaker’s decapitated head, but what they got was a hamster instead.

“What is the meaning of this...?” Duke Taranis muttered before anger welled up inside of him. Then, he asked in a voice that showed that he was trying to restrain himself, “Are you telling me this thing is that old man, Undertaker’s head, Count Tanner?”

“...”

“Count Tanner? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe this isn’t Undertaker’s head but a hamster,” Duke Taranis said as sparks flew around him.

Bzzt! Bzzt!

The sparks proved that he was about to unleash his anger.

Count Tanner bowed deeply.

Heh.

Then, he flashed a grin that would only be seen on the faces of demons.

“That thing in the chest is...”

“...?”

“Indeed, a cute hamster.”

“What did you say?”

“Is it not cute, my lord?”

“Are you... joking with me?” Duke Taranis asked as he stood up.

Bzzt! Bzzzzt!

The sparks grew stronger as if they were threatening to turn Count Tanner into a pile of dust any second now.

“You dare make a mockery of—”

Swoosh!

Count Tanner moved like lightning and threw two disks into the air.

Shwik! Shwik! Swim!

Swoosh!

A flurry of rainbow-colored projectiles scattered in the air and rained down on the nobles.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The nobles fell one by one, and not a single one of them survived.

“...!”

Duke Taranis was shocked.

“W-What is the meaning...?!”

However, he was more shocked than he was enraged.

Who would have known his loyal vassals would be killed in the blink of an eye? What was the point of him ascending the throne now that his vassals were dead? How was he supposed to run the kingdom even if he did become the king?

A king without a foundation was doomed to become a puppet of others.

“You dare... You son of a—“

“I dare what?” Count Tanner retorted. Then, he smirked and said, “Is there something wrong with drilling holes into the heads of traitors?”

“What?” Duke Taranis furrowed his brow. Then, he glared at the count and asked, “Who are you? You’re not Count Tanner! Reveal your—“

“What? You still can’t tell?” Count Tanner grimaced and cut him off.

“...?”

“I think you need to get your eyes checked,” Count Tanner said while shaking the rainbow-colored disks in his hands.

“No way...?” Duke Taranis muttered. Then, he finally realized the real identity of the count, “You’re that...!”

“Bingo!” Count Tanner exclaimed before he pulled the skin of his chin upward. The count’s skin stretched until his entire face was pulled off, and a young man’s face replaced it.

“Ta-dah! Count Tanner was actually Siegfried van Proa!”

“...”

“Hey, traitor. We still have a score to settle,” Siegfried said with a smirk.

***

Twenty-four hours ago...

Gulp! Gulp!

His plan could potentially kill not only Taranis but also all of the nobles who had sided with him, and Siegfried was truly impressive for coming up with such a terrifying plan.

“What do you think? Should we put it into motion?” Siegfried asked.

“With haste, we shall!” Duke Undertaker easily agreed.

Why?

Because they had no choice!

The fate of the Kyiv Kingdom rested on Siegfried and his plan.

***

The plan was a resounding success. Siegfried was able to infiltrate the enemy’s camp easily, and he successfully poked holes into the heads of the enemy nobles. The Rebel Faction no longer had any influential figures aside from Duke Taranis.

“Siegfried van... PROA! You pesky little brat dares to make a fool out of me again?! Haha! Hahaha!” Duke Taranis exclaimed, and he started snickering like a madman at the end of his sentence.

Clearly, Duke Taranis was starting to go crazy. The anger within him had already reached its maximum threshold, and it had reached a point where he would not be satisfied even if he killed Siegfried and ripped him into thousands of pieces.

“You will pay for—“ Duke Taranis growled.

“My lord!”

“Protect the duke!”

The knights belonging to the Rebel Faction rushed in and surrounded Siegfried.

Siegfried smirked and took out his +13 Horse Fly. Then, he said, “Sorry to say this, but... Nobody can protect you now.”

“Nobody can protect me?”

“Yes, so let’s duel it out instead,” Siegfried said before he slammed his +13 Horse Fly into the ground.

Boom!

A thunderous roar reverberated, and fiery pillars of flames shot up from the ground.

***

Duke Taranis was trapped within the Barrier of Victory after Siegfried used the Grand Duel.

[Alert: Barrier of Victory Duration: 60 seconds.]

[Alert: 59... 58... 57...]

Siegfried ignored the message in front of his eyes and charged at Duke Taranis.

“Hah! Do you really think this pathetic barrier of yours can entrap me?” Duke Taranis scoffed.

Bzzzzzzt!

Duke Taranis unleashed a torrent of lightning, transforming into the Thunder God.

Thunder God’s Descent!

It wasn't complete, but he had just activated the trademark skill of the Descendant of Thunder God Vajra.

“Time to die, brat,” Duke Taranis said, aiming his right hand at Siegfried before firing a laser beam.

Ziiiing!

Duke Taranis' laser beam had become much stronger after absorbing the energy of a Lightning Core.

However, Siegfried didn't try to dodge the laser beam. Instead, he thrust his hips forward and shot out a laser beam of his own using the Great Champion’s Belt.

Ziiing! Ziiiiiiiing!

Their laser beams clashed in mid-air and started pushing each other back.

“...!”

Duke Taranis was shocked. 'Has this brat always been this strong?’

Duke Taranis couldn't help but be surprised to see that his laser beam had failed to overpower Siegfried’s laser beam right away. However, his shock didn't last long as his laser beam started pushing Siegfried’s laser beam back.

‘I can’t win with this,’ Siegfried thought. He immediately pulled back his hips and changed his +13 Horse Fly into a shield.

Ziiiing!

Duke Taranis’ laser beam crashed into Siegfried’s shield.

“...!”

Duke Taranis was shocked yet again after seeing that Siegfried didn't get blasted away by his laser beam. Forget about getting blasted away, Siegfried was even marching forward while defending himself from the laser beam.

This was completely different from what had happened just two weeks ago. Siegfried was blasted away at the time, and he even crashed into a wall.

‘T-This brat!’ Duke Taranis finally accepted that Siegfried had truly become stronger, but it was a step too late.

“Aaaack!” Siegfried bellowed as he parried the laser beam to the side.

Step!

Then, Siegfried kicked off the ground and ran as fast as he could toward Duke Taranis.

Whoosh!

Siegfried spun once he was within arm’s length of Duke Taranis, and then he swung his +13 Horse Fly with all his might.

Baaaaam!

A deafening noise echoed when the +13 Horse Fly Shield slammed into Duke Taranis’ side.

“ARGH!” Duke Taranis cried out in agony, and he was blasted away upon impact.