Chapter 1072

Chapter 1072

Arshad could not understand the illusion that he had just seen. Why would the emperor, who was supposed to lead hundreds of millions of people, kneel and worship another? But the shocking part did not end there.

Twitch, twitch–

His body’s reaction did not stop. Another panorama unfolded through his glasses.

“Fwaaaaa–”

Like a man drunk on something, he exhaled and looked up at the sky.

Through his glasses, he saw a pitiful human boy who was forced to become a vessel of demonic energy. A mysterious and unidentified hand broke through the darkness, grabbing the crying boy’s hands, and pulled him up.

Then, another illusion appeared in front of Arshad. The boy, now a man standing in front of millions of demons and demonic beasts, knelt and worshiped someone. This person stood with a smile as he looked down upon him. Just like before, the features of the man's face were vague.

Twitch, twitch–

Arshad’s senses were constantly being stimulated.

When he saw an unknown young boy holding a sword in his hands, his trembling body shook even more intensely. When he saw a beautiful girl with silver hair and snake-like eyes, his breath stagnated.

‘Why?!’

Why did the boy who stood at the pinnacle of all swordsmen kneel in front of someone?! Why did the beautiful girl with snake-like eyes and a beautiful yet ugly past worship this someone?!

‘Why is it this man again?’

Arshad, whose entire body would spasm whenever a “candidate” appeared, flinched and twitched as countless people appeared around them. It looked like he was being electrocuted constantly.

“Arshad! Arshad!” Someone called out to Arshad, whose eyes were left unfocused.

Blink–

Captain Evaluator Ruba grabbed and supported Arshad by the arm.

“Haaa...” Arshad breathed out.

Captain Evaluator Ruba was aware of how Arshad reacted whenever he was observing people who were candidate material. But Arshad’s reaction this time was quite unusual. Ruba could see that Arshad’s reaction had not stopped.

The most puzzling was how he kept on questioning, ‘Why? Why?! WHY?!!’

“What the hell did you see?” Ruba asked.

Only then did Arshad come back to his senses. Arshad could record his evaluation based on what he saw, but he could not tell his companions anything about the panorama and the illusion he saw. All he could do was give his evaluation.

“I also don’t understand the things that I have seen.”

He just could not understand why that man always appeared at the end of every illusion.

“It’s very surprising.”

“What’s surprising?”

“This is the first time I have seen the panorama of so many people in a single day.”

“You have been shaking and twitching non-stop because of their panorama?” Ruba asked, his voice filled with disbelief. Nevertheless, Ruba knew that Arshad’s intoxication and reactions were much more than usual.

“How many people did you feel?”

“There are more than seven.”

“...!”

“...!”

Ruba, Royer, and the rest of the evaluators were shocked. It was extremely rare for Arshad to react to anyone and recognize them as candidate materials. But more than seven people in this empire alone had already gained Arshad’s recognition. It was the first time that this had happened.

‘Of course, the people I reacted to are still unqualified to become candidates.’

Still, the fact that Arshad reacted to them meant that their growth potential was high enough. Although they weren’t qualified now, Arshad could predict that their influence in the future would be comparable to a candidate’s.

Ruba, who knew Arshad could feel and evaluate those who had the potential to be candidates, asked, “So, are there any eligible candidates right now?”

Arshad nodded in response. “There are two...”

“Did you say that you were the Pillar Evaluators?”

Before Arshad could finish his words, the wolf-like man, the same man who stood at the center of hundreds of millions of people in the illusion that Arshad saw, appeared.

Brod stepped forward and began to chastise Ruba. He said, “Were you the one who did it? Did you do that to our people just now?”

Although the influence that the Pillar Evaluators had now was not as great as before, anyone who had heard of the term “Pillar Evaluator” would know they weren’t people to be ignored or treated lightly. They were the type of people who had enough power and strength to make even an emperor run barefoot to meet them and kiss them on their feet.

The arrogant Ruba looked up as if he wanted to correct the man’s mistake.

“So, you did it.”

“...?”

But the man was staring at him coldly.

“...”

Ruba, who had never experienced being welcomed like this before, looked puzzled.

“Right now, you should know who I am...”

[The Pillar of Courage to Never Back Down has refused his nomination.]

Then, Brod stepped forward with his sword, already brimming with power. The figure of an enraged wolf that appeared on his sword seemed ready to pounce on the enemy.

“We have a lot of things to do.”

[The Lord of the Masses has refused his nomination.]

“That’s not what we’re asking you to do.” The anger in Brod’s eyes burned even more. “Kneel to our soldiers and apologize. Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship.”

Hunt of the Wolf King.

Awoooooo–!

A gigantic wolf came out of Brod’s sword.

Ruba realized that this power was at a level that could threaten his life. He instinctively tried to counter the red sword light coming straight at him.

Bang–!

Alas, his defense was easily torn apart. The gigantic Wolf King continued to charge toward him and caused multiple wounds. Thankfully, he could strengthen his body instantly and protect himself from the rampaging attack of the Hunt of the Wolf King.

Drip, drip, drip–

Nevertheless, the wounds all over his body were large, and his blood continued to drip down the ground. He was even forced to take a few steps back. This was the first time he had experienced something like this as the Captain Evaluator. He had never been humiliated like this during any candidate’s evaluation.

The other evaluators were left astonished.

‘Even if most of our powers have been sealed, this is still ridiculous. He pushed back Captain Ruba...?’

‘What the hell? What do they eat in this empire?’

Of course, they were still far worse than the evaluators. However, at least seven of them had power that could rival their own.

Ruba’s face grew uglier. “I’ll kill the both of you.”

A strong killing intent rose from Ruba’s body. The other evaluators also stepped forward.

Of the five evaluators that came, there was Captain Ruba, Dexterity Evaluator Royer and Observer Arshad. The other two were considered evaluator escorts with power that could rival Brod and Ben. They were sent along with the three just in case something unexpected happened.

As it turned out, the situation was escalating.

But then, Arshad suddenly grabbed Ruba’s arm. He was shaking all over again. It was a sign that he was feeling the energy of another candidate. But his reaction was much more intense than the reaction that he had before. There was even a blank look on his face. Perhaps it was because he was looking at the candidate’s panorama.

Ruba was surprised by Arshad’s reaction.

“W-what...?”

This was because Arshad was crying.

At the same time, someone appeared in front of them. All of the evaluators could tell that this man was the one who made Arshad react like this. When he saw the man, Ruba felt like things had become easier.

Then, Royer said, “Ruba, there’s no need to dye our hands with blood. That guy looks like the guy who we’re looking for. He should know who we are. He will execute those two people who provoked us for just two mere guards.”

Ruba notched his anger down.

The face of the man, who was listening to the report, was growing darker by the second.

“Candidate, you must have heard the disrespect that these men have shown me. Go ahead. Execute them quickly...”

“Brod, break that bastard’s legs.”

“I will do my best to break his legs, Your Majesty.”

“Grandpa, break his arms.”

“Hoho. This old man will use all his power to tear his arms apart.”

“...?”

“...?”

‘No. Wait... what?’

“Candidate, do you not understand the situation right now?”

“I know it well. I heard that you broke our precious guards’ arms and legs.”

“No. They’re just mere...”

“Mere? You must be complete lunatics.”

“We are evaluators...”

Then, the man asked, “Is that an official position?”

“...”

“...”

‘Ah. That’s right. It’s not an official position, no?’

At that moment, everyone was rendered speechless.