Chapter 124: Destiny (II)

Had Pablo’s will been transmitted? The elemental force circulating throughout his body surged unimpeded down his arm. Its destination: the war hammer. In an instant, the weapon was suffused with a deep brown hue.

Buzzz.

The energy began to concentrate intensely. Eventually, the war hammer resembled a mace engulfed in brown flames.

Pablo swung the earth-toned war hammer towards his enemies.

“Haaah!”

Craaash!

The war hammer whirled like a windmill. At that moment, Pablo’s adversaries were treated to a most unwelcome sight: a tidal wave of surging soil bearing down on them.

“W-What is this?!”

“Whoa!”

The earth embraces all things. But from time to time, the enraged earth greedily swallows everything in its path.

The three warriors were caught off guard by the war hammer’s onslaught, akin to an unstoppable avalanche. Instinctively, they raised their swords in a futile attempt to block.

Crack!

Their bravery in confronting this natural disaster head-on was rewarded with a gruesome end.

Thud!

The force of the blow shattered their sword arms and legs, before crushing them beneath its immense weight.

Thud-thud!

The once valiant warriors were reduced to mangled bodies, careening to a stop at Levans’ feet.

Witnessing this spectacle, one of Levans’ loyal subordinates let out a scream upon seeing the war hammer pulsating with brown energy.

“S-S-Sungang!”

Louis couldn’t help but marvel at the sight of the gracefully shimmering brown aura.

“Sungang?”

The energy enveloping the war hammer flared like a firework. It was unrefined but unmistakably Sungang.

Sungang (性强): A concept akin to martial arts’ sword aura or fantasy worlds’ magical swords. This technique involved emitting accumulated elemental power externally, channeling it through one’s weapon to exponentially increase its destructive potential.

In this original world, each attribute possessed unique properties that could be harnessed by those wielding Sungang.

Come to think of it… I’ve never actually witnessed true Sungang before, have I?

Though he had encountered numerous tier-2 warriors among his twins, they were always easily dispatched with just a “million-volt electric jolt.” There’d been no need for anything more advanced until now.

Greg was the only tier-2 warrior Louis had encountered while traveling across the continent…

I let my guard down and got a sneak attack.

What good is creating Sungangs if you can’t even defend yourself? He’d been so focused on making them that he hadn’t even realized what they were until now.

How fascinating.

Despite their dull brown color, there seemed to be something luminous about them. This contradiction intrigued Louis greatly.

I’ll have to show these twins to my lightning attribute Sungangs later.

They might look prettier than earth attribute ones at least. With this initial impression, Louis concluded his thoughts on Sungangs for the moment.

Meanwhile, Levans and his men paled upon seeing the Sungangs.

“It’s Sungang!”

“A tier-2 warrior!”

A tier-3 warrior was treated like a powerhouse wherever they went. So how much more so for a tier-2 warrior?

Many people practiced forbidden magic, but only a handful could break through the tier-2 barrier. If one could prove their skills, they could even receive noble titles from both the kingdom and the empire.

Thud-thud.

Pablo slung his war hammer over his shoulder and strolled away slowly. Levans gritted his teeth as he met Pablo’s proud gaze.

Where… where did it all go wrong?

This situation should have been impossible to lose. The plan, the power—everything had been overwhelmingly in their favor. Yet now, the tables had turned. No matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t figure out what had happened.

Levens glared at Pablo.

That runt blocked my future?

Levans shook his head in disbelief.

Impossible!

Pablo might be a tier-2 powerhouse, but how could he possibly take down hundreds of Levans’ soldiers single-handedly?

What in the world happened while I was out of sight?

As Levans grappled with this conundrum,

Flash!

Another burst of light caught everyone off guard.

And then…

“Huh?”

“He’s…he’s back!”

Louis had brought the survivors back to their original position.

Shing!

The Imperial Guard drew their swords, aiming them at Levans and the nobles.

Meanwhile, Page rushed over to Pablo.

“A-Are you okay?”

Page had watched from hiding as Pablo struggled valiantly against overwhelming odds. Seeing him emerge covered in blood after that series of explosions had nearly given Page a heart attack.

Oh my goodness… How could this happen?

Pablo had gone all out to help Page despite it not being his own business. Page felt incredibly sorry yet grateful towards him.

Seeing the concern in Page’s eyes, Pablo smiled reassuringly. “I’m fine.”

“How can you say that?! Your blood is—”

“My blood isn’t important right now. More importantly…” Pablo trailed off.

Page snapped back to reality and turned her gaze elsewhere. The king was facing off against Levans.

Levens gritted his teeth as he asked, “Did you know I would do something like this today?”

The king nodded affirmatively. “Yes.”

“Heh… So you’re more than just a toothless wolf after all.”

“My fangs may be gone, but my claws remain sharp.”

“You’ve truly bested me.”

“This may be our first meeting, but it will also be our last. We shall never cross paths again.” Their conversation encapsulated all their emotions from over two decades of conflict. It was also a dialogue that marked its own end.

But Levans had not yet given up his cause. With bright eyes, he declared, “It is far from over.”

“You still refuse to surrender?”

“Though I have failed, my son or grandson—or perhaps someone carrying on my legacy—will dream of a world like this one day. Can you truly prevent them as well?”

The king glared at Levans with undisguised hostility.

Then Louis’s voice whispered into his ear:

“What?!” The sudden intrusion made him flinch momentarily before regaining his composure. After that, no further messages came through.

His expression hardened slightly as he issued an order: “Seize these men.”

On the outskirts of Bernium Palace, two thousand soldiers encircled the main gate and walls with a formidable presence.

The armed forces commander, his face etched with impatience, gazed at the palace before turning to his aide-de-camp. “Still no news from inside?”

“That’s correct, sir.”

“I can’t fathom how events have unfolded this way.”

By now, they should have received word of victory and the end of hostilities. Yet for nearly an hour, they had been idling outside the palace, awaiting developments.

Could something unforeseen have occurred within…?

But the commander dismissed such thoughts.

Impossible.

Six hundred soldiers disguised as wedding guests had infiltrated the palace grounds. With such overwhelming numerical superiority, how could their position possibly be reversed?

As he was trying to dispel his worries…

“Huh? Th-they’re coming!”

A group slowly emerged from the front of Bernium Palace. The armed forces were overjoyed.

“It worked!”

But their joy didn’t last long.

“What? Wh-whaat?”

“No way!”

Whispers spread throughout the area.

The group emerging from Bernium Palace… At its head were Levans and ten loyalists, but there was a problem: they were all tightly bound, and behind them glinted flashing blades.

“C-C-Chairman!” Armed shouted in surprise.

And at that moment…

Thump, thump.

Footsteps could be heard behind the troops forming the cordon. It wasn’t the sound of just one or two people. There must have been hundreds.

Startled, Armed hastily turned around.

There stood Baron, the Master Guard of the royal family, and Greg, leader of the Leon Revolutionary Army.

“Stop!”

Behind them were hundreds of soldiers. In front, Levans had been taken hostage. The armed forces couldn’t think straight, unsure how to handle this unexpected situation.

That was when:

“Show yourselves!”

At Greg’s command, the Leon Revolutionary Army split apart. And there, revealed between them…

“W-wife!”

“Father!”

They were people tightly bound as well. Seeing this, Levans’ face paled along with those of his ten loyalists.

“T-they’re—”

“The king!” The cries came from Levans’ loyalists—the future twelve members of the committee. They were being dragged out by the Leon Revolutionary Army, restrained among their ranks.

They were none other than Levans’ family members and his close associates’. The king observed them as they arrived bound together, Louis’s words echoing in his mind:

At the temporary Chief of Staff’s request, the king had relinquished command of the Imperial Guard to him.

Seizing the opportunity presented by Levans’ absence, the combined forces of the Imperial Guard and Leon’s Revolutionary Army swiftly captured the families of the rebellion’s leaders.

These were the “gifts” the young chief of staff had spoken of earlier.

Once the favored ones of Premier Levans, basking in wealth and power, they now found themselves reduced to mere hostages.

This was a device to crush any lingering hope and morale among their enemies, as well as a means of intimidation.

In the thick silence that followed, the king raised his voice and shouted:

“Soldiers, listen up! By law, those who participate in treason shall be punished by extermination!”

The soldiers’ faces hardened at the king’s solemn proclamation.

“But there is no crime on your part. If there is blame to be placed, it lies with me for failing to protect you as the King of Frenche, allowing you to fall prey to Levans’ treachery!”

The sudden reversal caught the soldiers off guard, leaving them wide-eyed and speechless.

“For this reason, I will not hold you accountable. Lay down your arms and surrender. If you do so, I will embrace you once again within the bosom of Frenche, without holding any grudge.”

The king’s voice resonated with power.

Sensing the soldiers’ wavering, Levans’s loyalists desperately shouted:

“Don’t be deceived!”

“The House of Frenche has been incompetent and useless! Who fed and fattened up the current Frenche Kingdom?! It was Chairman Levans himself!”

“Chairman Levans will open a new world for you!”

“If you surrender now, it’ll be no different from returning to your impoverished past!”

The loyalists’ cries plunged the soldiers into confusion.

And in that moment…

Thwack!

A massive fist connected squarely with the face of one particularly loud loyalist. In an instant, teeth went flying, his nose crumpled, and he slumped unconscious to the ground.

Standing over him, Pablo glared down with a terrifying expression.

A profound attribute power emanated from his entire body, causing the war hammer to ripple with a brown aura. The luminous war hammer then struck the earth with resounding force.

Boom!

The ground cracked open as if a massive earthquake had hit, sending fissures spreading outward in a triangular pattern. They tore down the castle walls before finally stopping at the feet of the enemy soldiers.

The astonished foes cried out at Pablo’s solitary display of might:

“A holy river!”

“A tier-2 warrior!”

Ignoring their murmurs, Pablo barked, “This is His Majesty’s place of honor! Who dares to speak without permission?”

His thunderous voice silenced all tongues. After restoring order, Pablo stepped back behind the king, exuding an air of unwavering resolve.

The Sungang flickered across Pablo’s war hammer, hinting that it could easily be summoned again if needed. Louis knew Fabro was pushing himself too hard right now, but he couldn’t help smiling at this show of force.

He’s gotten quite perceptive, hasn’t he?

Pablo had noticed his presence lent credence to the king’s words and was making a display of strength. And there was another who stepped forward to add weight to the king’s commands.

Thmp.

As Greg moved ahead, black energy rippled from him as well. Soon, dark Sungang surged along his long blade. His eyes glinted with a murderous intent: one wrong move, and you’re dead.

Two tier-2 warriors appeared before and behind their opponent. The enemies, familiar with tales of such formidable foes, were struck with terror.

Sensing the enemy’s morale plummeting, the king raised his voice once more:

“Behold, all of you!”

His tone grew even sharper.

“They who deceived you with visions of a new world have failed. And now, they shall pay the price for their failure.”

The soldiers’ eyes were drawn to Levans and the nobles, captivated by the scene.

Then came the king’s final ultimatum:

“Why still raise your spears, my soldiers? This is your one chance. Do not tempt my patience. If you miss this opportunity, I will deal with you as traitors too!”

No sooner had he spoken than Pablo and Greg’s energy surged even higher.

And then…

Shing-shing!

Swords were placed at the throats of the bound Levans group and their captured families. It was clear that these lives could be taken at any moment.

Louis, who had been secretly observing this from afar, muttered quietly:

“The game was lost when we captured Levans and his men.”

Nevertheless, the king personally addressing thousands of soldiers in front of them all was a kind of performance—a show meant to demonstrate his power.

For far too long, the prime minister has held sway over the Frenche Royal Family, leaving the monarchy terribly weakened.

In order for the kingdom to endure, it was necessary for both the king and the royal family to assert their authority. Moreover, there was also the need to win back the hearts of those soldiers who had been drawn into service by the prime minister.

After all, today’s enemy could very well be tomorrow’s ally.

If these forces were brought on board, the power of the royal family would become even more firmly established.

Thus Louis kept a close eye on the situation unfolding before him.

And then, at that moment…

Clunk.

One of the soldiers lowered their spear. The first step was always the hardest, but once someone took the initiative, the rest followed suit, swept up by emotion and atmosphere.

Clunk, clunk.

The sounds of weapons being cast aside echoed from all directions. Even the commander of the troops, the Armed Forces, couldn’t stop them—not that he could, given how morale had crumbled.

”…We surrender.”

Even Louis, who had led these forces, tossed his sword away.

Witnessing this scene, Levans raised his eyes to the sky in despair and muttered:

“Where did it go wrong? Where on earth did I fail?”

He remained unable to pinpoint the cause of his defeat.

Meanwhile, Louis—the man who would change the future of the Frenche Kingdom—allowed a subtle smile to curl the corners of his lips.

“Mission accomplished.”