The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Chapter 112

Aden’s sword clashed with Sylbeta’s sword, slicing through the air…

Kurrururururung-!

Kwaaaagagagagaaak!

The collision between two Sword Masters, the impact of two Aura Blades, created a formidable shockwave, destroying the surrounding terrain.

“Ugh!”

“E-everyone, get back!”

“Master Sylbeta is going all out! Everyone, retreat!”

Due to the shockwave, the high-ranking knights under the Thunderstorm Knight couldn’t withstand the wind pressure and retreated.

Clang! Clang clang! Clang!

Every time Aden’s sword, Baalzebul, collided with Sylbeta’s claymore, a storm-like force erupted, altering the surrounding landscape.

“My God… Is this really power a human can wield…?”

One knight shuddered as he voiced such a lament.

They already knew their lord, Sylbeta Sias, was a monstrous being beyond human limits.

But the Winter Queen’s Slayer, Prince Aden Remes, was blocking and deflecting all of his attacks.

The attacker and the defender.

Neither of the two seemed human.

Though they looked like beings beyond humans, they were undoubtedly human, so there was only one term fitting for them.

Superhuman.

Ordinary people couldn’t dare think of intervening in this battle of beings beyond human limits.

They could only serve as a mere backdrop, watching the awe-inspiring fight from afar.

Kurururu! Boom boom!

The Thunderstorm Knight’s Aura Blade was like a bolt of lightning.

The formidable Aura Blade intertwined irregularly in the form of lightning.

When he swung his sword, it was as if a god was wielding a lightning spear, and when the swords clashed, the sound of thunder roared loudly.

This was why Sylbeta was called the ‘Thunderstorm Knight.’

Aden’s eyes narrowed as he watched the countless lightning-like sword strikes from the Thunderstorm Knight pouring toward him.

‘Indeed, the future Knight King. Such a formidable sword.’

The Thunderstorm Knight’s skill in utilizing the Aura Blade and his swordsmanship itself were exceptional.

Some strikes were cunning and meticulous, like an Ice Snake lurking in the snowfield.

Some strikes were brutal, like a Frost Ogre on the snow.

And some strikes were ruthless and tyrannical, like an Ice Drake of the frozen land.

His splendid and irregular swordsmanship embodied the essence of all the achievements he had accumulated so far.

Indeed, it was the skill of a Sword Master on the verge of reaching a higher realm.

The future Knight King Sylbeta was still absurdly strong even in the past.

“I am Sylbeta Sias!”

The Thunderstorm Knight’s lightning-like sword thrust at Aden.

“I am the master of the Frost Fortress and the Grand Duke’s supreme commander!”

Aden narrowly dodged it and deflected it using the subtleties of the Mercenary King’s swordsmanship.

But Sylbeta, as if he had anticipated Aden’s move, twisted his sword stance and quickly struck from Aden’s blind spot.

“Do you think you can defeat someone like me!”

Swish!

The Thunderstorm Knight’s Aura Blade narrowly missed Aden’s head, cutting a few strands of his hair and leaving a thin wound on his cheek.

Each of the Thunderstorm Knight’s attacks surged toward Aden, who either blocked, dodged, or deflected them sideways.

“Do you know the blood-stained frost of the north!”

Clang-!

Their swords collided.

“Do you know the ferocity of the monsters of the frozen land!”

Clang-!

They clashed again.

“I have a duty to protect the Grand Duchy! Therefore, I must be strong!”

Clang-!

Aden parried his swordsmanship and taunted the Thunderstorm Knight.

“So, did you have to fix your mana organ? Even at the cost of sacrificing countless people.”

“That was an inevitable sacrifice!”

Only if he remained intact could his subordinates remain intact.

Only if he was the strongest could his knight order be the strongest.

Thus.

“I must become the strongest knight!”

Only he could become the next Grand Duke and lead the Grand Duchy.

The Thunderstorm Knight’s lightning Aura Blade wildly poured down on Aden.

His sword was as cold and sharp as the frost of the north.

‘Indeed, a master is a master, huh?’

Though it was a sword filled with twisted beliefs, obstinacy, and madness, it was still a sword that had reached a certain realm.

The Thunderstorm Knight’s blood, sweat, and efforts were contained within that sword, and Aden could not lightly disregard that resolve.

‘But even so…’

He couldn’t afford to lose.

Aden was standing there to seek revenge, and that’s why he wielded his sword.

Clang, clang-!

A fierce battle continued between the two.

‘What is this?’

At some point, a small doubt arose in the Thunderstorm Knight’s mind, which had been filled with nothing but anger.

“You…”

The Thunderstorm Knight’s expression became strange. At first, he thought it was just a misconception and ignored it.

Clang!

But as the battle continued, the sense of incongruity he felt grew.

Clang-!

Again.

“How on earth…?”

His expression showed bewilderment, which soon turned into astonishment.

Clang-!

Again, his attack was blocked.

His strike, containing the culmination of his life’s skills, was effortlessly deflected.

Only then did he realize the source of his discomfort.

“You, how… how do you know my swordsmanship so well!”

The youngster before him wasn’t just blocking his sword.

He was seeing through and deflecting every technique of his swordsmanship.

“This can’t be!”

He launched an attack that had once instantly severed the throat of a Frost Ogre.

But it was blocked by Aden’s sword.

An attack that had decapitated an Ice Drake, the tyrant of the frozen land, aimed at Aden’s neck.

But it was dodged and deflected, rendering it ineffective.

The Thunderstorm Knight’s swordsmanship was fierce and filled with complex techniques, but Aden systematically neutralized all those techniques.

It was like facing a giant wall.

He couldn’t accept that such a youngster, not even twenty years old, was blocking the culmination of his life’s swordsmanship.

But undeniably, every strike was blocked and deflected.

“This can’t be happening!”

A scream-like roar burst from the Thunderstorm Knight’s mouth.

At his desperate outcry, Aden let out a bitter smile.

‘Of course, I know.’

They had sparred countless times, after all.

Though the time period was different, there wouldn’t be anyone who knew the Thunderstorm Knight’s swordsmanship as well as he did.

But that wasn’t all.

Aden’s eyes glowed with a golden light.

—

The Eyes of Fire are activated.

—

Thanks to the assistance of the Sacred Relic of the Lord of the Sacred Fire, the Eyes of Fire, which discerned all falsehoods and truths, he could more easily distinguish the flaws and genuine moves.

It was a swordsmanship he was already sick of experiencing, and with the assistance of the Eyes of Fire, he couldn’t be caught even if he wanted to be.

But there was no way Sylbeta could know that.

“Uaaaah!”

Feeling as if his decades-long life with the sword had been denied, he screamed in agony.

When the mind wavered, so did the sword.

Humiliated by the fact that his swordsmanship was ineffective, his sword became rough and hasty, naturally creating openings.

‘Now.’

Aden’s eyes gleamed, and he threw something at the momentarily exposed opening of the Thunder Knight.

Thud!

The Thunder Knight felt a prickling pain in his side…

‘A dagger!’

Soon, he realized that a dagger was deeply embedded in his left side.

‘A mere wound like this!’

He tried to dismiss the injury inflicted by the dagger.

The blessed, robust body of Sias could withstand several daggers without hindering the battle.

But that was the Thunder Knight’s mistake.

The dagger Aden threw was no ordinary dagger.

‘A dagger made from the fang of a Basilisk.’

The fang, flowing with the deadly venom of the high dragon species known as the king of all venomous creatures, the Basilisk.

‘The venom in the Basilisk’s fang can poison even those at the superhuman level.’

It was a special weapon crafted by the blacksmith dwarf, Hetos, at Aden’s request.

‘I am a mercenary.’

Thus, he fought like a mercenary.

There were many large and small differences between a mercenary and a knight.

But the biggest difference in combat was this:

‘If necessary, they don’t just rely on pure swordsmanship; they also use treacherous methods.’

They would win by any means necessary.

And they survived.

That was the essence of a mercenary.

Therefore, it was common for mercenaries to scatter sand during a sword fight or use poison and concealed weapons.

‘This is just one of those times.’

It was simply one of those.

The Basilisk itself was a rare monster, and its venomous fangs were even harder to obtain.

No matter how great the Thunder Knight, the heir of the Grand Duke of Sias, he wouldn’t have built up immunity to such a rare and deadly poison.

As expected, the body of the fiercely moving knight began to slow down.

“Damn, such a dirty trick!”

It was only then that Silbeta realized he had been poisoned by the deadly venom and glared at Aden with murderous intent.

But to Aden, it was laughable.

‘Even if you realize it now, it’s too late.’

Now, it was his turn to counterattack.

Aden distanced himself from Silbeta and focused.

-‘Using the Cloak of the Frozen Winter.’

Flurrr!

Behind Aden, a cloak of ice, as clear as crystal, fluttered.

Whooooosh.

Then, a bone-chilling coldness spread from Aden.

Soon, something astonishing happened.

Shhh.

From beneath Aden’s feet, black mist began to rapidly rise.

By consuming the heart of the Basilisk, Aden had gained immunity to all poisons and poisonous blood.

And by acquiring the ‘Cloak of the Frozen Winter’ from the Winter Queen, he could now use the attribute of cold.

As a result, he could synthesize a new technique.

‘Mist of Doom.’

He mixed the mana of poison and the mana of extreme cold to create fine poisonous ice crystals and a poisonous mist.

“Grrrr!”

The poisonous mist thickened, obstructing the Thunder Knight’s vision.

While the poison in the mist wasn’t enough to poison a knight of superhuman level, it was enough to hinder his sight.

Shhh!

Through the black poisonous mist, Aden’s sword stealthily targeted the Thunder Knight.

The knight blocked Aden’s sword immediately.

Clang! Clang clang! Clang! Clang!

Aden’s sword, Baalzebul, persistently targeted Silbeta within the black mist.

Thanks to the power of the Eye of Fire, he could see effortlessly within the mist.

‘He can’t see me, but I can see him.’

This was an overwhelming advantage.

A relentless ambush unfolded within the black mist.

‘Mercenary King’s Swordsmanship, Knight Breaker.’

The swordsmanship of the Mercenary King, which shattered the unwritten rule that mercenaries couldn’t defeat knights, surged towards the Thunder Knight.

The expression on the Thunder Knight’s face twisted in frustration.

‘What is this swordsmanship…!’

A sword pierced through the black mist, launching a surprise attack.

That sword carried the weight of the Mercenary King who had defeated the swords of all knights…

“This is impossible!”

Having never seen the Mercenary King’s swordsmanship before, the Thunder Knight had no choice but to be helplessly overpowered.

A body poisoned by the Basilisk’s venom.

Vision blocked by the black mist.

And now, the Mercenary King’s swordsmanship, designed to break knights.

Faced with these combined factors, he was nothing more than prey for Aden.

Wounds continued to accumulate on his body.

“This is impossible!”

He screamed, covered in blood.

He couldn’t believe it.

‘I am Silbeta Sias! The one who will defeat the Winter Queen and become the strongest knight!’

He couldn’t accept that someone who had always been in the position of strength was being overpowered by such a young upstart.

His murky anger and obsession, all his muddled emotions, paralyzed his reason…

‘Those who dare block my path…!’

All would ‘die.’

In the end, he was completely consumed by his madness and his own mana.

Boom!

A violent aura exploded from his body, and a whirlwind erupted.

“Ugh.”

Aden stepped back due to the force of the wind, and the surrounding poisonous mist was completely blown away.

Then, the Thunder Knight’s figure emerged.

– Roaaaar!

A deafening roar that seemed to burst eardrums.

The Thunder Knight’s eyes were stained red; he had long lost his sanity, and an uncontrollable aura was raging around his body.

– Kill…!

The Thunder Knight, having lost his sanity and consumed by a red aura, resembled a beast.

Aden immediately recognized the state he had fallen into.

‘Mana Rampage.’

The worst state a mana user could fall into.

A mana rampage was occurring.