Chapter 190 – Counterattack (5)

100 meters, 90 meters, 80 meters… Roman Dmitry closed the distance. It felt like the nerves on his body were on edge, but Count Fabio didn’t step back. As a member of the empire, he didn’t want to show a scared image to Cairo and above all, he was sure that he couldn’t die from this.

Rumble!

“Stop!”

It was Gustavo, the leader of the Knights of Kronos. He jumped ahead. Being in charge of the 10th unit of the Knights of Kronos, he felt that he had to handle the situation.

Aura shone on his sword like the sun. Without having to say anything, it proved that he was different from the other Knights of Kronos that Roman had faced until now.

He was fast. As he arrived in front of Roman Dmitry in an instant, he seized the moment that Roman Dmitry was cutting down an enemy and immediately attacked.

Kaang!

Rumble!

With a single hit, a huge wave of mana could be felt. Gustavo continued to launch the series of attacks without stopping, and the two of them continued to clash.

It was unusual for someone to block Roman Dmitry’s sword. If he hadn’t known Gustavo’s identity, then maybe he would have uttered his surprise, but he already knew of it.

The Continental Ranking’s 78th and the 35th in Kronos’s ranking. He was a talent the world knew. Even though he was ranked higher than Count Nicholas, his existence couldn’t be handled by Cairo.

Gustavo was an example of how powerful the Kronos Empire was. The 5-star aura from his sword was strong. The other swordsmen couldn’t even attack Roman, but this man could handle him. But….

Kang!

Kakakang!

Roman blocked all of the opponent’s attacks. At the same time, when the Knights of Kronos attacked for an opening, Roman pushed Gustavo away and cut them down at once.

Slash!

“Kuak!”

That was the scene. And another knight who was waiting to take advantage of the situation rushed in, and Roman Dmitry cut off his chest. But killing just one didn’t bring him any relief.

Immediately, the other knights rushed in, and even while blocking Gustavo’s attack, he killed them all.

Roman was in the middle of the enemy camp. The best swordsman, Gustavo, stepped forward, and yet Kronos couldn’t land a single attack on Roman.

They were all running around insanely. The attacks of the powerful predators were all being stomped down by Roman Dmitry, and it was the Knights of Kronos who were collapsing first.

One, two… more bodies piled up. Roman was at a disadvantage, but with time, Roman Dmitry’s presence overwhelmed the enemies. It made no sense.

Gustavo rushed again. Handling a 5-star aura swordsman was no joke, but the opponent didn’t seem to care. It was like it didn’t even matter. Gustavo focused on one single goal—winning, but at some point, he felt that his opponent was ignoring him.

‘You bastard.’

One against many, and Gustavo was one of the many. There was nothing great about being a 5-star aura swordsman. It was just a slight advantage over the others. At the same time that his anger was rising in such a situation, Gustavo had no choice but to accept one fact.

‘Roman Dmitry is a more dangerous person than we think. If that guy is left alive, I don’t know how to face the wars that will come. Even if it means risking my life, I need to deal with that guy here.’

His eyes changed. And…

Clack.

It was the limit. Inside Gustavo, mana began to explode.

Kwang!

Kwakwang!

The nature of the attacks changed. It went from having the aura of a warm sun to one that could burn things. His power seemed to have risen twice as much as before.

Roman Dmitry raised his mana mirroring his opponent, and faced Gustavo.

Kwakwang!

Grrr!

A wave of mana rose. The mana immediately made the area so dangerous that normal swordsmen couldn’t get close, and the two of them kept fighting.

Each attack made the ground shake. The clash between the two exceeded human limits, to the point that the soldiers of the Kronos Empire collapsed on the ground due to it.

In this situation, Roman Dmitry felt the change—the change in Gustavo’s attack pattern.

‘The opponent is currently using innate qi.’

Innate qi. It was the qi that the human body was born with. It wasn’t the kind of power that could be generated through cultivation. It was formed naturally as human beings went through life. Aside from having a very small amount of power, innate qi was directly related to life. That just shows how much Gustavo wanted to kill Roman Dmitry, at the cost of his own life.

In the last few years, Roman studied the continent. As far as this world’s knowledge went, there was no way to use innate qi. Maybe it was Kronos’s secret or Gustavo’s. Only he knew the answer.

Gustavo showed his intent to kill Roman Dmitry with an unexpected force, but in reality, it was a force he had already experienced.

In his past life, there were various types of people in Murim. And among them, those who used their innate qi would sacrifice their lives to take down their enemies.

They also knew it. The moment that they would consume their innate qi, the end result would not be good. They might be able to survive, or at the very least live the rest of their lives with a disability, if the battle ended before they used all of their innate qi.

It was a forbidden power. Even the people in Murim didn’t dare touch the power of innate qi.

However, here on the Salamander Continent, he discovered an entity that was willingly touching something that the Murim people didn’t.

Rumble.

The mana was hot. Gustavo ran wild with the power he couldn’t control, but that changed the result. Just like that, there was no change.

Roman Dmitry had one year to grow, which, come to think of it, was a year ago. Roman Dmitry had already reached a new level of power and managed to become the head of the northeast.

He had already defeated Count Nicholas, who was stronger than Butler, yet he took his time. Then, was it only his subordinates who got stronger? No—even Roman became stronger. Just as he had reached a level that others couldn’t in one year, Roman had a different growth in the past year.

It was a battle of strength and power. They faced each other head-on. Even though the opponent raised his innate qi, he couldn’t push Roman away.

‘N-No way.’

Gustavo was confused. He had used his innate qi, yet he didn’t want to die or become disabled. It was a secret weapon that was not shown to the world, but he couldn’t accept the fact that he still couldn’t overwhelm the enemy.

The situation was abnormal, and Gustavo had gone beyond his limits. If he still couldn’t defeat the opponent, it meant that Roman Dmitry was not his opponent in the first place.

He had not much time now. His innate qi was decreasing fast, so Gustavo made a decision.

“You will not be able to stop this.”

Rumble.

He prepared for his last attack. He raised his mana. Seeing him use all of his aura as if it would be the end, Roman Dmitry also prepared himself.

He didn’t even need to use a mid-level technique. As if the sword technique were fully developed, the power of the Heavenly Demon Sword Art changed.

‘The first three forms of the Heavenly Demon Sword Art.’

Rumble.

There was a clash of strength and power. The moment Gustavo’s attack exploded, a storm of aura that shook the world engulfed the two of them.

Kwakwa.

Kwakwakwang!

A thick cloud of dust rose. When the energy that swept the world subsided, people witnessed something shocking.

“… Gustavo has been defeated.”

On the ground, they could see traces of what appeared to be Gustavo. His face was so badly torn that it was impossible to identify him, and Roman Dmitry just looked down at the corpse with an indifferent face.

He was as strong as Count Nicholas.

At one time, he thought that the way people in this world use their power was wrong, but now he would admit that their way of handling their power has developed differently from Murim.

But that didn’t mean that he was stronger. The more he accepted the new world, the more he could change from his previous life. Roman Dmitry, as he did in Murim, entered a realm that others couldn’t touch.

Roman shifted his gaze. Count Fabio’s face was pale. He sat on the ground, unable to run.

Step.

Roman walked to him, and there was no one blocking his way. In the situation where even the proud Knights of Kronos were frightened and only looked at them, Count Fabio got up.

“Su-Surrender! I surrender!”

He gave up on his pride. He raised a white flag, but Roman Dmitry’s face didn’t change.

‘He is thinking of killing me.’

He knew it right then. Even if he surrendered, the opponent wasn’t going to spare him. Count Fabio changed his attitude. If the opponent refused to compromise, then there was only one way.

“Roman Dmitry! I am a noble of the Kronos Empire! Even during the war, Kronos will never forgive any being who touches the nobles. Do you think you can handle it? Come at me! You will have to live in fear of the empire killing you each night. Your blood will dry up, you won’t be able to sleep, and you will lose your sanity. So choose. Save me or take all the honor!”

He screamed loudly. He looked straight at his opponent.

Tak.

Roman stopped walking.

“I know the cost of my choices.”

Baek Joong-hyuk was a man who stood at the top. Assassinations were a daily thing for him, and he accepted all of them.

“So die.”

Puak!

He lodged his sword slowly and painfully.

As the soldiers of the empire appeared, Roman Dmitry pushed Count Fabio into the abyss of death.

Kwang!

Grrr!

Explode.

The clash between Roman and Gustavo sent shockwaves everywhere.

“… what is this!?”

Count Vandenberg, who was cutting down the enemies, was shocked at the sudden explosion. The wave of mana he felt was so unusual. Normal soldiers would have been simply startled by the sound of the explosion, but he could feel the mana in the wind.

‘We don’t have much time.’

If anything happened to Roman, the troops in the middle would face a crisis. The reason why Cairo chose to attack from both sides was to stop the enemy from getting help from the troops who were in front, but it was taking longer than expected.

With the help of Chris, he managed to come out victorious in the rear. But he felt something ominous in the aftermath of the explosion.

“Do not worry. What the commander is fearing will not happen.”

It was Chris.

Did he read his thoughts? After calming his anxiety and immediately joining the battle, Count Vandenberg was speechless.

‘How can he be so sure?’

The plan was very dangerous. Roman Dmitry took the most dangerous role, and considering the power of the Kronos Empire, it wouldn’t be a shock if something happened to him.

However, none of Dmitry’s soldiers seemed to be worried. The huge explosion only made them briefly turn their gaze, and soon they went back to battle.

He admired their blind faith. He thought that the driving force behind Dmitry’s revival was the strong ties centered on Roman Dmitry.

Dmitry was a solid iron fortress. After the war was over, the Dmitry family would stand tall as the best family in Cairo. It was then….

Pang!

Papapang!

Far away, the signal was fired. Red to attack, yellow to retreat, and green…

‘Means the enemy commander has been killed.’

Everyone’s eyes went wide. The flare was green. It was a shocking result that no one had ever thought of, enough to put Count Vandenberg’s worries to shame.