Chapter 188 In These Wretched World!

But that was to be expected. After all, Knight Boris was the last remaining ascendant of his kingdom, and the burden of keeping his people safe weighed heavily on his shoulders. Grand Duke Liam let out a deep sigh, realizing the weight of the Knight's grief.

An explosive sound echoed through the air, as the sword sliced through the wind with a sharp 'SWIIISSSH!', followed by a deafening 'BOOOM!' that shook the ground beneath their feet.

Another hand was cut off, desecrating the 'Faceless king of 32 Kings'.

The victim let out a bloodcurdling scream, "AAARRGGGGGGH!!!" that pierced through the chaos of the battlefield. But the magical swordsman, Boris, remained unflinching, determined not to let his impressive display of strength go to waste.

Nonetheless, even though he was impressed by Boris's show of might, he won't let him win that easily. And besides, his spirit -'The faceless spirits of 32 kings' hasn't had the time to attack yet and was only taken by that surprise.

The Grand Duke couldn't help but chuckle at Boris' bravado. "He thinks he can win with just the element of surprise" He muttered to himself. But the Duke was not so easily swayed. He had yet to unleash the full power of his spirit.

With a wave of his hand, the Grand Duke summoned the attention of his spirit, and his thoughts were instantly translated into action.

"SWIIISSSH!" "BOOOM!"

Even as the spirit bent its gigantic head towards Grand Duke's Liam direction, ignoring Knight Boris's as he sliced off another one of its arms, the Grand Duke took his time and relayed his orders.

With a commanding voice, he issued his orders to the royal spirit. "Finish him!" He bellowed, his voice echoing across the battlefield. "Do not hold back for any reason!".

The spirit heeded its master's call, exhaling a gust of wind from its six gaping mouths. It was a sound like no other, a deep, rumbling growl that travelled across the earth like a wave, striking fear into the hearts of all who heard it.

But the creature's display of strength did not end there. With a mighty roar that shook the very ground beneath their feet, the spirit's sliced-off limbs began to regenerate, its immortality on full display. Even the weapons that had been shattered and disintegrated into nothingness began to reform, rising up from nothingness like a phoenix from the ashes, rebuilt from the bottom to the top.

With lightning-fast reflexes, the spirit launched a fierce attack, its spear slamming into Knight Boris's armour with an ear-splitting crack. The sheer force of the blow sent him hurtling backwards with a deafening sonic boom, his body tumbling through the air like a ragdoll.

"BAMMM!!"

The resounding impact of Knight Boris's fall echoed across the battlefield. The sheer force of his descent was enough to cause the concrete ground around him to uproot and fly off in different directions, like leaves scattered by a strong gust of wind. Spider-webbed cracks stretched across the earth in all directions, as if the very ground beneath their feet was trembling in fear.

"RUMMBBLEE!!"

As the ground descended once more, a massive crater was left in its wake, with Knight Boris sliding backwards to reduce his momentum and avoid the devastation of his own doing. But even as he struggled to regain his footing, his gaze remained fixated on the towering spirit before him.

Finally, he came to a stop and straightened his body upright, his eyes meeting those of the gigantic spirit who had taken an arrow from the quiver tied around his waist. The spirit had already poised its bow, stretching the strings to their maximum limit. And then, a torrent of flames engulfed the arrow, its fiery heat consuming first the shaft, then the bowstring, before the entire bow was baptized in a searing inferno, ready to unleash a deadly attack.

Despite the overwhelming danger, Knight Boris stood firm, his legs rooted firmly in the concrete ground, his body poised and ready for whatever came next. If it were any other time, he would have dodged the all-consuming, larger-than-man fiery arrow - but not this time. Instead, he focused all his attention and energy on the blade in his hand, positioning it with surgical precision on the broken, smothered rocks.

"TWWAAANNNG!" "SWWWOOOSSH!"

With a sudden, explosive burst of sound, the arrow was released, hurtling through the air towards him faster than the eye could see, faster than the mind could process. But Boris was not one to falter. He sprang into action with the grace and precision of a true magical swordsman, his movements like poetry in motion, fluid and precise, a testament to years of training and experience. With lightning-fast reactions honed over countless battles, he didn't even need to think or process what was happening around him.

And so, when judgement descended from the sky above, Boris's body acted accordingly and moved forward.

Yes, he charged towards the being, operating purely on instinct. The natural slow of time slowed down within his perception as he skillfully brought his sword forward and stroked it against the arrow's metallic, fiery surface.

"DDDDINNNG!!"

In his ears, sound became silent!

His sword curved in a bid to divert the arrow's trajectory to the side.

"BAAANNNNGG!!"

The force of the arrow's impact reverberated through Boris's entire body, pushing him back with a powerful surge of heat and repulsion. His armour crumpled and buckled under the force, and his muscles rippled with the strain of the impact.

But even amid this chaos, Boris refused to yield. Instead, he braced himself and tightened his grip on his sword, feeling its weight grow heavier in his hand with each passing moment.

"CRAAACCKCKK!" "BAAMMM!" "CRACCKKK!!!"

Not strong enough?

The earth gave way. Craters formed around him and aided his descent into the pit that threatened to swallow him whole. Despite seeing all of this and feeling the strain slowly accumulating on his muscles, Boris gritted his teeth, dauntless.

With his sword stopping the descent of the arrow, Boris gave one final push and roared,

"EMERALD RITE SACRED ARTS: UNFOLDING RE-EMERGENCE: RITE OF PASSING!"

All-encompassing might met overwhelming strength!

"SWWWIISSSHH!"

The arrow shifted with a sudden, violent motion, hurtling towards a frozen, crystallized building. It crashed into the structure, bathing it in a fiery inferno and causing the very foundation to uproot and overturn.

"BOOOOMMM!!"

"Haaaa….. Haaaaa....." Boris breathed heavily, his lungs filling with air in short, ragged gasps.

The sparks of electricity that had surrounded his form moments before crackled and dissipated, merging into his body and infusing every fibre of his being with newfound strength. His body became denser and tougher, his muscles bulging with power as he lifted his head to stare defiantly at the towering and imposing royal spirit. Within his eyes, crimson red crackles and flashes of lightning illuminated his iris like a fiery storm.

"Don't tell me that you are tired!" Grand Duke Liam's voice boomed, reverberating from afar. "…Because we are only just starting!".

Knight Boris snapped his head towards the direction of the voice, his piercing gaze locked onto the Grand Duke.

"I should be the one asking you that question" He retorted, his voice echoing with a twisted, inhuman quality that seemed to tear through the air and penetrate the Grand Duke's ears.

Grand Duke Liam replied sharply. "Are--".

Again --

"BAAAANNG!!" "BAMMMM!"

Knight Boris vanished from his spot, ascending high in the air and charging towards the royal spirit. His body flawlessly imitated a shooting star as he swung his sword forward, cutting through the uncuttable before his sword landed on the translucent skin of the spirit.

"SWIISSSH!!"

This time, however, he decimated its legs and hindered its movement before he vanished and appeared close to its twelve arms, as if the air itself was his stepping stone. He attacked with swift, precise strikes.

"SWISSSHH!" "BOOOM!!" "SWWWISSSH!!" "BOOOOMMM!".

As the fight raged on, Knight Boris found his emotions swelling like a convulsive storm, growing larger and more intense until his very worldview began to attain a dark, ominous hue.

Had he possessed the prescience to foresee the eventual outcome of these circumstances, he would have jettisoned his ideology far sooner than he did.

Why bother with being good for the sake of goodness when the world around him was nothing more than a depraved hotbed of misery and despair?

And so, with conviction in his heart, he made his fateful decision:

In this wretched world, where malevolence reigned supreme -

He firmly believed that those who deserved retribution would inevitably face their due fate...

So that goodness --

May bask in the serenity of peace!

…....….

Meanwhile, far away from the devastating attacks and destruction that rippled through the atmosphere, Gideon stood alongside his Queen, Queen Mavena. Both of them fixated their eyes on the intense display of strength between the two combatants.

"First it was the Mad King of the Sloywoth Kingdom pitted against King Ameal of the Azuiloith Kingdom...and now, we bear witness to the Knight of the Eser Kingdom engaging in a deadly duel with the Grand Duke of the Houya Kingdom" Gideon heaved a deep sigh, the weight of the conflict bearing down heavily upon his shoulders.