278: The Fifth Energy (4)

The Holy Kingdom, Avilius, the most powerful nation on the continent.

It had the power of over 15 Masters, including the hidden powers, as well as the high-level priests, along with Expert level knights who supported them. All of these combined made people believe and put their trust in them.

It was indeed the most suitable bunch to oppose the Devils.

Subsequent to the tragedy that had occurred in Rabat at the appearance of the Clown Devil, which was an occurrence as great as the Demon Dragon King, the Holy Kingdom began to form subjugation squads.

But still, the situation didn’t seem too good. Frankly, it would have been better if an all-out war with the Devils had occurred.

Starting with Julius Hul, one of the three strongest swordsmen, if the power which had been stored up because of the 160 years of peace was released at once, they would defeat the Devils with ease.

But the Devils were sneaky, filthy, terrible, and were too sly.

In order to patrol across the wide continent, they had no choice but to disperse their power, and they had now reached a terrible junction.

Little by little, the damage piled up.

Little by little, the confusion grew. Secrets leaked out, and the people who knew about the increasing number of devils grew.

The Holy Kingdom changed its plan to move alone, and asked for the help of other Kingdoms.

They knew that this decision would fuel more rumors, but they decided that it would be better to annihilate the Devils sooner.

But it was a mistake.

The moment they changed their decision, the devils sank deeper and began to reveal their other lesser beings.

The contractors.

The number of demons began to explode.

“Did you hear it? There is a Demon in the Torban mountain…”

“It appeared on the side of Calben too. Isn’t this bad?”

“I know. If possible, just stay inside. Sending a subjugation squad from the Kingdom should solve it.”

“I don’t know. From what I have heard, if the number of demons increases… the Devil has come back…”

“What? For real?”

A fear swept across the continent.

Of course, the fear wasn’t to the extent where the social order collapsed. That was because the power of the continent during the peaceful time had grown stronger.

The number of swordsmen increased thanks to the schools that had come up, and although it was limited to Runtel, the number of magicians had increased too.

The churches of the Holy Kingdom that had spread around, helped stabilize the peace in the minds of the people.

So, the direct damage wasn’t too much.

It was still a world where there were still far more people who lost lives to poverty and robbery than to the Devils.

But…

‘The seeds of anxiety had already been planted inside the minds of people… and now, it was too late for the Holy Kingdom to try and withhold the flow of information. It was assured that the fight would last a long time.’

A member of the Red Knights, Cristobal Blackwell, thought with a worried expression.

Just like the faith of priests gathered to create miracles, the fear that spread caused confusion.

It would destabilize the dimensions and create a hole between Devildom and the Human world.

‘… I am not afraid to face a Devil with my sword.’

It wasn’t a lie.

They knew better than anyone how powerful and terrible the Devils were.

It was fine if they could wield their swords for the continent. They thought that their lives weren’t important in comparison to the world.

However, if hope faded due to the sacrifices of men… if fear of wandering the continent grew…it would result in the gates to Devildom opening wider and allowing more terrifying things to come over…

When he thought till there.

He saw Julius Hul walking by.

“…”

“…”

All the knights gathered in the training hall held their breath and looked at him…Julius Hul, who was the most faithful of Avilius and the strongest man in the Holy Kingdom.

No.

Cristobal Blackwell’s heart pounded violently at the appearance of the existence who was undoubtedly the best on the continent.

At the age of 50, he had risen to the position of Commander of the White Knights and had been leading the knights from the forefront for the past 40 years.

And that person was here in front of them. He was able to summon back all those who were chasing after the devils and cleaning the evil with just a single sentence.

For the knights of Avilius, Julius was such a figure.

A dependable and hopeful light in a desperate situation.

‘Perhaps he has an idea we can use for us to overcome the current situation.’

A faint smile appeared on Cristobal’s face.

A little late, he saw something…no, someone else.

“…”

The Commander of the White Knights started radiating more energy than before.

He didn’t know it right away, but as the person got closer, it became clear.

The person walking towards them was breaking down the pressure of Julius Hul. As if it were breaking through the sacred white wall, an intense energy rose from that person.

“…”

“…”

Silence descended upon them.

The hall was silent for some time.

It felt like a long period of time because of their slow walk, and the training hall’s width.

And as if they didn’t care about the time that seemed to stand still, the black and white knights stopped their march. Meanwhile, the Black Knight Commander, Ignet Crescentia, was facing the strongest sword of the continent with dazzling power.

“Let’s start.”

There was no response.

Shhh!

A sword was pulled out.

Clank!

The posture was checked.

Woong!

And a red aura flowed from Julius Hul. Some knights gulped without realizing it.

The momentum of the Black Knight commander, who filled the training hall, was drying all their mouths.

Woong!

Swoosh!

And with feet, her movements which seemed like the wind itself, moved like lightning towards Julius for the attack.

Julius Hul laughed.

The sword of the old man looked happier than ever, and a formidable aura came out.

Waaahhh.

“It’ll definitely work.”

“Hmm.”

Julius Hul nodded, looking at Quincy Myers.

It really might. The mindset of the knights before and after the fight did seem different.

After pondering for a moment, he carefully said,

“Georg, you were right. It was the effect of gathering those who were busy.”

“Thank you.”

“He-he! Our commander, no, it is only natural for anyone to feel energized when seeing such a face!”

“That is true.”

The White Knights commander stroked Anya Marta’s hair.

Like other knights, he had no fear when dealing with the Devil. However, that wasn’t what perplexed him currently.

When he thought of the future, 10 or 20 years from now, his worries deepened.

‘Senior Myers and the Purification squad knights, Ian and Khun… even the Red Knights commander is here. We are close to leaving.’

Julius Hul was 90% sure that he would win the war against the Devils if it came to an all-out war right now.

However, if another 10 years passed, then most of the strongest people would be very old.

If 10 more years pass, the top three swordsmen, including him, would be extremely old too, and what would happen then?

What would the juniors do?

‘That will be the Kingdom’s greatest fear. But…’

After today, that fear is completely gone.

Recalling the previous match, he spoke with a happy smile.

“There is hope.”

Right.

Today, Ignet Crescentia was defeated by his hands.

However, what was revealed wasn’t despair, but rather, it was hope.

Even if she couldn’t rise to the 3rd position of the strongest swordsmen right now.

He was feeling confident that she could reach that level at a much faster time than expected.

No, he was sure that she could go even further.

It was his belief that she would become the center of the continent and annihilate the demons!

Such a heart would make even the hearts of the paladins stronger.

“Wait.”

“… is something up?”

Quincy Myers asked with a serious expression.

He had no choice but to do that.

Because Julius Hul, who had had a pleasant mood until now, suddenly had a serious expression. Wouldn’t such a drastic change happen only if there was a huge deal?

However, there was no need to worry.

No, it was rather good.

After a while, unexpected words came out from the White Knights Commander.

“Do I only need to show the knights?”

“What?”

“The sword of the Black Knight Commander.”

“Um?”

“Ignet’s swordsmanship, her skill, the potential she has, and the hope she represents.”

“…”

“Not just us… if the whole continent knew about it, we could create such a place….”

To deliver greater hope than the evil that was plaguing them.

Wouldn’t it help to destroy the door to the Devildom?

It was when Quincy Myers seemed shocked.

One of the knights rushed in and gave them some news.

“The Black Knight commander disappeared? What…”

The Red Knights’ commander looked around. Anya Marta, who was there with them until a few minutes ago, had also disappeared.

“She didn’t seem to be fine…”

“It will be fine.”

Julius Hul answered.

Quincy Myers looked at him and then at Georg Phoebe, who was the vice commander of the Black Knights.

He, too, didn’t seem to have any worries.

It was then.

The old man, who remembered the face of a young man, nodded and said.

“Please, I hope it isn’t too much of a stimulus.”

“It was really nice to see you after a long time. Will you welcome me next time?”

“Haha, of course. You are welcome at any time.”

Sometime later the next day, the guests of the Pariera estate gathered.

Everyone left, including Ilya, and Airn smiled at Kuvar and Karakum, who were the last ones left on the estate, and they, too, were getting ready to leave.

Moments of parting were always sad. But this time, it wasn’t so sad.

That was because he knew that he would meet them again. Those were the thoughts in Airn’s head as he watched them leave.

It was then that he saw something.

Ching!

There was a line in the air.

It was much brighter than the light of the sun at noon.

It soon expanded to a size large enough for several people to pass through.

It was Anya Marta.

Kuvar looked at her with a firm expression.

Tak.

And then, another person came.

An existence with a strong air just like she had before, a strong but lean build, and long black hair, which was rare on this continent.

He recognized that person without having to say it.

Ignet.

Shhh!

Clap!

Karakum began to use the Five Divine Spirits technique. The metal pulled onto the axe. It was because of the story he had heard.

‘She went to Ian, Khun, and even Lindsay’s place.’

The Aura of the Orcs rose like haze on a summer day.

But it was wrong.

It was true that she was there to come for confrontation, but it was not directed at Durkali.

Ignet, who took a step back, passed Karakum. She didn’t even bother to look at the Orc to see whether he was flustered or not.

“Airn Pareira.”

And she said,

“Should we have a go at each other?”

Woong!

She gave out a strong aura.

It was quite a sudden remark, but Airn wasn’t too shocked.

Without being swayed…

…or being nervous.

He, who looked at Ignet Crescentia’s state, summoned his greatsword.

Woon.

And said,

“Let’s do that.”