(Orlax POV)
I glanced at the guards before and guessed their power level was around the advanced stage.
I gathered strength under my feet, jumped over the gate, and entered the courtyard.
"There is an intruder!! Everyone, please evacuate as quickly as possible!"
The guards began shouting, warning the nearby people to move away due to my sudden movent.
I remained standing in place, watching dozens of guards gather in front of , ard and ready.
One of the knights at the forefront stepped forward, holding a dium-length sword in his hand.
"I am Dormron Valdrik, the Chief Knight of the Northern Duchy. By the authority vested in , you will be arrested for entering a restricted area without any legitimate reason. Knights, advance!"
The knights around him began surrounding in a circular formation, while he stood before , observing cautiously.
’Their formation is solid, and their strength is decent—not bad.’
*[Emperor’s Presence Activated]*
A crushing aura fell upon everyone in the courtyard.
The knights dropped to one knee due to the overwhelming pressure, unable to move.
Only the Chief Knight remained standing, but he was struggling to stay upright, his breaths becoming irregular.
"What is this overwhelming presence?! Who are you? Why are you attacking the Northern Duchy without cause?"
The Chief Knight gritted his teeth and tried to remain standing, facing the intruder who had broken into the palace.
I stayed silent at his question and began advancing towards him with slow steps.
I looked into his brown eyes. Despite the tension, there was no trace of fear—as if he didn’t care whether he lived or died.
’Their ntal strength is impressive as well. They are truly elite knights, just as I heard.’
Before my hand could reach the Chief Knight, I felt an overwhelming presence rushing toward at great speed, forcing to step back several paces.
Swoosh!
After leaping backward, I saw before a man with short brown hair and brown eyes.
He had a light beard on his face, appearing to be in his forties.
The man had a massive build, like a giant standing over two ters tall.
He wielded an enormous sword with both hands, its length matching his own—about two ters as well.
The sword in his hands was an ancient artifact, having existed for over three thousand years.
The man standing before was none other than Duke Valdrik himself.
Tiran Valdrik—the undefeated Northern Duke, a beast who has never lost a single battle in his life.
One of the five individuals in the world who had reached the Grandmaster level in swordsmanship—just like .
He rested his giant sword on his shoulder and looked at with a smirk.
"You truly have the audacity, little man, to attack my private castle while I am here."
A vein bulged on my forehead in anger at his mocking and provocative words.
’Little man?? You’re the giant here! My height is perfectly normal, you damn brute!’
Well, my current height is around 170 cm, and considering my age, I still have room to grow.
"Alright, alright, by the authority granted to by the Emperor... I forgot the rest. Whatever, I’ll crush you."
Tiran slamd the ground forcefully and dashed toward at an unreasonably high speed for soone of his massive size.
He reached in an instant, raising his enormous sword to crush . But I quickly drew my own sword and blocked the direct strike.
I felt my muscles tearing from the sheer force of the blow, and I was sent flying backward, crashing hard into the wall.
Boom!
’This brute with his ridiculous strength—why did he start at full power from the beginning?’
I rose after being thrown against the wall, watching Tiran, who was still smiling.
"You endured my strike? That’s odd. You must be around my power level to withstand it. Ugh, all this thinking is exhausting—let’s have so fun."
Tiran charged at again, this ti faster and even stronger.
Our swords clashed multiple tis within re seconds, and each ti, his raw power forced back.
’I expected this—he’s stronger than . But I haven’t fought with everything I have yet.’
[Earth Magic Activated]
As Tiran prepared to strike once more, a pit ford beneath his feet, causing him to lose balance and giving an opening to attack.
Seeing my strike incoming, he hurriedly raised his sword to block it. However, due to his unstable footing, the mont my attack landed, he was sent flying across the battlefield, crashing into the far wall.
Boom!
Hearing the impact, I stood firm, watching the dust settle.
Once the area cleared, Tiran leaped high into the sky, reaching hundreds of ters above the ground.
I narrowed my eyes as I saw him doing sothing above.
"Hahaha! You’re truly interesting. This is the first ti I’ve been pushed to this extent—but I’ll end this fight with my next attack."
Despite the vast distance, I could still hear his voice clearly.
He gripped his sword with both hands, raising it toward the sky as light began gathering around it.
[Great Sword—Sky Breaker]
His sword grew larger and larger until it reached over twenty ters in length.
He lowered his hands, and the sword descended rapidly toward .
Seeing the attack approach, I imdiately sensed danger and knew that if it struck directly, I’d die in re seconds.
I activated multiple spells simultaneously and braced myself to defend with my sword.
[Control Magic Activated]
[Water Magic Activated]
[Earth Magic Activated]
I used Control Magic on his sword to slow its montum and weaken its force.
I coated the blade with Water Magic to decrease its power and destructive range.
Finally, I summoned a massive stone wall in front of to mitigate the impact.
The sword descended—but now at a visibly slower speed—crashing into the stone barrier I had created.
It penetrated everything and finally reached .
I planted my feet firmly, raised my sword, and blocked the massive weapon head-on.
I felt enormous force pressing into the ground, but I endured it and remained standing.
Finally, after a few monts, the giant sword began shrinking until it vanished completely.
I looked up to see Tiran descending rapidly before crashing into the ground.
Boom!
A crater ford where he landed, but he remained standing, watching seriously.
"Who are you? Only one person has ever blocked that attack before—long ago."
This ti, he stood in a proper stance, caution visible in his eyes as he analyzed slowly.
’I think this is enough.’
I removed my hat and the mask covering my face, tossing them aside.
"I am Orlax Tirshtain, Emperor of the Tirshtain Empire, Tiran Valdrik."
Shock spread across Tiran’s face as he recognized —my familiar features and the eye patch over my right eye.
After a few monts, he snapped out of his shock, plunged his massive sword into the ground, and knelt on one knee.
"I greet Your Majesty. I apologize for attacking you."
Tiran spoke in a tone filled with respect, surprising slightly.
"There’s no need for an apology. What you did was perfectly reasonable given that an unknown figure had infiltrated your lands. Now, rise."
"As you command, Your Majesty."
Tiran stood, withdrawing his sword from the ground as it transford into particles of light, vanishing into his body.
I sheathed my own sword and stepped forward, stopping directly in front of him.
"Tiran Valdrik, I ca today to ask you several questions. Also, my servant inford that she arrived at your estate recently, so I wanted to see her."
"You are most welco, Your Majesty. Your servant is currently in one of our guest rooms. Let’s head inside first, and you may ask whatever you wish."
I glanced around at the devastation from our battle—the once beautiful courtyard had transford into a chaotic ruin of rocks and debris.
Following Tiran, I entered the castle and arrived at a room resembling a study, which I guessed was his personal office.
He gestured for to sit on a sofa in the center of the room, while he sat opposite on another sofa.
Given his enormous fra, I half-expected the sofa to break under his weight—but sohow, it remained intact.
"Alright, Your Majesty, what did you wish to ask?"
I leaned back comfortably on the couch, crossed one leg over the other, and looked at Tiran from the corner of my eye.
"Is it true that your city suffered from a monster wave two days ago?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. I personally fought a Rank 7 monster. That’s why I didn’t face you at full strength earlier—I haven’t fully recovered my energy yet."
My lips twitched at his words.
’He wasn’t fighting at full power, and he was already on the verge of killing . If he had been at full strength, he might have slain in his first attack.’
"Your efforts are comndable. I also wanted to confirm—did you hear that Baron Ellen suffered a monster wave as well?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Six days ago, I received a ssage from Baron Ellen."
Hearing this, I looked at him in surprise.
"Then why didn’t you send reinforcents in response to their request?".
Tiran sat upright, looking into my eyes, and said sothing that made my head spin slightly.
"What do you an, Your Majesty? I have already sent my reply to him, and sent ten thousand soldiers as reinforcents. Because of that, we suffered a little in soldiers against the wave of monsters that hit our city."
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