Chapter 146: Terrifying Back Up
Auren’s sweat dropped nervously as his eyes witnessed his strongest tool ever break.
The runesteel blade that had carried him through hell split apart, fragments scattering into glowing dust. Ten strikes. That was all it had taken for Romeov’s destructive mana to unravel a weapon forged by the elves themselves.
Even his defensive rings, blessed artifacts, would crumble against this monster’s power.
"Crap. Why now..."
But another message made the situation worst as Bigbird’s voice chimed in urgently.
Master! Transformation limit—thirty seconds left!
"What!?"
Clank.
Romeov rested his enormous blade against his shoulder, smirking confidently.
"It’s over."
His tone dripped with certainty while he looked at Auren like a cornered dog.
"Any last words?"
"..."
Auren exhaled.
He had two options: surrender or gamble.
But surrender was never an option to him.
"Alright," he said, sounding calmly
"How about this... You can have the ring Queen Elarya gave me and Jjust let me walk away. I’m sorry if I—"
Romeov chuckled darkly, cutting him off.
"Do you think I reached the imperial throne through bargaining?"
His eyes narrowed, colder than stone.
"The reason I want you gone, boy, is because you’re an eyesore."
In other words, you’re jealous, Auren thought, biting back a laugh.
You just won’t admit it.
Romeov’s grip tightened. "Since I have meetings later, I’ll end this quickly. You’ll die here today."
HAHAHAHA!
Auren’s sudden laughter rang out, startling the emperor.
For a moment, Romeov wondered if the kid had gone mad. Even the spirit within him muttered, Has he lost it?
But no—Auren wasn’t done yet.
’All out, then.’
He whipped out his other weapons—two upgraded MK Uzis, barrels glowing faintly with fire-imbued bullets. And each shot laced with fire mana bullets.
BA-BA-BABANG!!!
Muzzle fire flashed the entire room as bullets rained down against Emperor Romeov.
TEING~ TETEING~
Sparks danced against Romeov’s golden armor while its passive effect broke through the mana bullets making his shot like a basic bullets. The emperor squinted, taking the barrage without even shifting.
"This tickles."
"Tsk."
Auren ditched them, his expression fierce.
’I need the big guns.’
He reached deeper into his storage ring.
And out came his bazooka.
Romeov’s brows twitched at the sight, but his smirk held at the long tube like tool.
"Pathetic."
"Let’s see if this tickles you."
ZZZT-KABOOOM!
The bazooka roared, the fire magic-imbued missile streaking across the battlefield in split seconds.
But Romeov’s reflexes, honed through countless wars, deflected it with a single swing—but the impact still forced him back several meters.
KAPEENG!-BOOOM!
Auren didn’t stop.
ZZZT-KABOOOM!
Another shot. Another block.
Romeov slid back again, dust spraying.
"Is that all?" the emperor mocked, voice echoing like thunder.
Fifteen seconds!
Bigbird warned.Auren’s lips curled into a wicked grin.
"Then let’s make them count."
He poured mana into the weapon, his mind channeling the teachings of Elarya’s book. The runic engravings along the barrel ignited, glowing brighter and brighter while a couple of glowing magic circles appeared right before the barrel.
WOOOM. WOOOM. WOOOM.
The bazooka vibrated violently, energy surging as his unlimited mana pooled into this next attack. Like a pressurized hose, all it takes is a simple touch and it will burst.
Then, Auren’s voice cracked like fire.
"Activate! BULLET EXPANSION!"
The magic missile blasted forth, its size swelling mid-flight.
From the size of a foot long size, it expanded into a blazing wrecking ball of pure fire mana and runesteel. Ten times larger. Ten times stronger. Ten times the pain.
A testament to Auren’s terrifying will, talent, and potential.
Romeov’s eyes widened. "What the—"
ZZZT-KABOOOOOM!
A massive flash outshined the sun for a moment.
The explosion split the heavens.
A mushroom cloud devoured the land, trees and stone disintegrating into nothingness. The air itself howled, scorched black.
Auren’s chest heaved as he watched the explosion devour his target. He was hoping that he won, but for some reason, his heart is still not contented.
’Maybe—just maybe—’
But then...
Romeov walked out of the inferno, his legendary-grade golden armor shattered, but his body remained unscathed, his muscles gleaming like forged steel behind the chaotic fire.
"Shit." Auren’s leg shook at the sudden outburst of his mana, and now he had to pay the price.
"That was impressive," he admitted while stopping a few meters behind the fire. As it turned out, this man had legendary-level fire resistance. His skin was basically harder than the armor he wore. Not to mention, his healing ability seemed to have far surpassed Auren’s capacity.
"Honestly, if that power was aimed against a castle, I think it would be enough to break at least half of it. But to me..."
He smirked. "It’s useless."
His blade rose again.
SLASH!
A crescent wave of destruction carved outward, splitting ground and sky alike.
"Oh, shit!" Auren shot upward, wings straining, narrowly dodging.
Romeov’s grin turned wicked.
"Now... it’s my turn. Taste my true power!"
The crimson sword shone brighter than ever with multicolored fire. He slammed it into the ground.
[EMPERIAL BLADE OF WRATH]
The world trembled, and Auren’s whole body suddenly felt as if he were being grabbed by a massive invisible hand.
Then gravity itself shifted, dragging Auren down as though mountains had fallen on his back. His wings and armor shattered under the force, his body plummeting.
"G-gravity magic!?"
KABOOM!
The earth split as he crashed, pinned by invisible weight. Meanwhile, everything close to him also suffered the same fate. Trees snapped, boulders crumbled, while Auren’s body continued to slam deeper into the ground as if he were being buried alive.
But Romeov wasn’t finished.
"Above you!" Bigbird screamed in his mind.
With all his strength, Auren’s vision tilted upward—and his blood froze.
Ten colossal blades materialized, each thirty feet long, summoned from a rift of pure mana. They burned with condensed power, edges glowing like newborn suns. Their form resembled that of the Emperor’s sword.
Each one could cut through the strongest metal in existence. And every last one of them pointed at him.
Even from hundreds of kilometers away, these bright flying swords of pure mana could be seen.
Inside the renovated castle of Austerra, a group of important figures had gathered to discuss future plans for the restoration of the kingdom. A long table was laid with the current nobles of Austerra, Princess Austaire—who happened to be the unofficial ruler of the place—and a couple of personal helpers of the emperor himself, mainly Wilfred.
And of course, at the center was the Emperor’s dummy, being controlled from a distance.
Wilfred Cerb Vantes and other powerful figures of the Empire also noticed the sudden fluctuation of light and mana in the air. All of them instinctively looked north, their eyes freezing in shock.
"Wait... Aren’t those the swords of the Emperor’s Wrath?" Wilfred frowned and turned to the dummy emperor, smiling dumbly in the center.
"EMPEROR ROMEEOV!"
As one of his envoys and aides, one thing he hated most was the emperor’s habit of leaving behind a dummy that just remained silent and nodded at whatever they discussed.
And seeing those flying swords in the distance only meant one thing—the emperor beside them was a fake.
"COME BACK HERE!" Wilfred shouted at the dummy emperor Romeov, whose best response was a smile and a stupid nod.
...
"Shit. Shit. Shit." Auren mumbled as he tried to think of a way to escape.
But the next moment, the massive swords in the sky started descending rapidly, multiplying their weight and power.
"Help, BONBON!" he called out desperately, and true enough, Bonbon finally moved.
FLASH!
His tiny green body turned into a streak of light as he arrived above Auren. The gravity magic did not seem to affect him as he opened his mouth toward the Emperor. A tiny black ball of pure dimensional destruction swirled in his tiny mouth.
FLASH!
Another version of Bonbon also stood before Emperor Romeov and opened its mouth, doing the same toward Auren and Bonbon.
"I dare you," Bonbon’s voice echoed.
"Do I look scared?" Akhub replied.
But as the sword was about to descend, a terrifying presence suddenly shifted the place.
A bright flash passed through them, and a shockwave left behind a powerful impact.
All of the giant swords that were supposed to land on Auren and Bonbon suddenly disappeared into dust before they could reach him.
"Hm?"
Emperor Romeov and Akhub frowned as they felt a new figure standing between them. From behind, he could feel a terrifying feeling coming from the middle aged drunkard.
"Who says you can go on a rampage near my territory?"
A middle-aged man with a wine bottle in his hand suddenly arrived. His hands were still in mid-transformation, looking as if they were made of magma and flame.
Above his head was his true identity.
Name: UghaLevel: 98Title: The Primordial Beast of Fire and Chaos*
Then with a simple look at Auren, he smiled and turned to Akhub and the Emperor.
"You want that kid? Sorry, but you’ll have to go through me first."