The Hero Becomes the Duke's Eldest Son

Translator: Marctempest

Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 192

Chaos' executive, Vivaldi of Vice, was quietly observing everything from the farthest rear of the Western Army's camp.

"Hehe, I'm glad I pushed to make them, even if it was a bit forced."

Vivaldi was pleased.

The Eastern Army was shaken upon seeing the undead corpses of the divine beasts.

Countless tribesmen had been sacrificed to create those divine beasts.

He sneered at the predictable reaction.

‘Foolish beastmen. Treating something like divine beasts as gods.’

Divine beasts were transcendent beings that had surpassed the limitations of their species.

But all they did to become divine beasts was spend hundreds of years living in a place called the ‘Sanctuary,’ where pure energy accumulated.

Aside from awakening their spirituality due to their long lives, they had not made any particular effort.

How was this different from demonic beasts that grew by absorbing tainted energy?

‘Divine beasts are, strictly speaking, not much different from mystical beasts.’

The difference was that mystical beasts were born as superior beings, while divine beasts were not. Also, mystical beasts had power restrictions when acting in the mortal realm under the guise of a contract, whereas divine beasts had no such limitations.

It was truly laughable to worship something that would be considered common in the realm of mystical beasts.

From Vivaldi's perspective, it was a good thing.

If the Eastern Forest Alliance surrendered as it was, he could easily absorb them and carry out his plans as intended.

Unfortunately, making the Eastern Army surrender obediently failed.

Given that the tribes of the Great Forest were typically stubborn and foolish, it wasn’t entirely unexpected.

However, Bivaldi wasn't too concerned.

In fact, it didn’t matter even if those Eastern fools refused.

Even without the undead divine beasts, the Western Army had Chief Kaan, who had reached the level of a High Sword Master.

Originally, Kaan was merely a Master, but thanks to the Philosopher’s Stone, he had been able to ascend to a higher level.

Three undead divine beasts, a High Sword Master.

And even 38 artificially created Sword Master warriors.

On the other side, the only ones they faced were three Master-level chiefs and a single divine beast that hadn’t lost its strength.

With this level of power, killing the Eastern Army's leadership and forcibly absorbing them would only be a matter of time.

...Or so he had thought.

"Nature shall reject you...!"

"For the great Kaan...!"

"Waaargh!"

The vanguard of the Western Army clashed with the vanguard of the Eastern Army, entangling in a desperate struggle.

The battle had been raging for five minutes.

"What... is this!"

Bivaldi's face twisted more and more.

Before his eyes, an entirely unexpected situation was unfolding.

-Uwoooooo...!

The 'Howling Great Mountain' screamed.

Kkwaaaak.

A massive white snake coiled around the equally massive mountain turtle's body.

A gigantic white snake, over hundreds of meters long.

It was none other than Jormungandr, the complete snake divine beast.

-My fellow reptile, I offer you my sincere condolences for your death. As a sign of that, I shall personally face you!

The turtle and the snake, the Howling Great Mountain and the Moon-Swallowing Serpent, intertwined and fought.

The turtle divine beast, Akupala, resisted, but due to the constricting pressure that Jormungandr was intensifying, cracks started to appear on its shell.

Jormungandr spread the poison from its fangs into those cracks.

Sssssss!

Jormungandr's venom, more potent than that of the Basilisk, the king of poisonous serpents, began to corrode the turtle divine beast's shell and flesh.

On another front, the 'Crow that Swallowed the Sun,' the crow divine beast, was engaged in a fierce battle.

-Miaaaaaoooo!

A gigantic flaming cat, as tall as a two-story building, was emitting scorching heat in all directions.

The cat divine beast, Miao, had returned to its true form.

-Karas! I've disliked you for a long time. How dare a crow be called the 'Crow that Swallowed the Sun'! Nyang!

Hwoooosh!

Miao formed hundreds of blazing fireballs around her.

-If you’ve swallowed the sun, why don't you try swallowing my flames too, and see how they taste!

Hundreds of fireballs rained down upon the crow divine beast.

The crow divine beast, Karas, flapped its wings rapidly to escape, but the fireballs were too many and too fast.

In the end, the crow divine beast was struck by several fireballs, letting out a screech, "Kieeeek!"

The situation was similar on the Black Tiger divine beast's side.

Crunch!

Fenrir’s sharp teeth tore into the Black Tiger divine beast's neck.

-Kraaang!

The Black Tiger divine beast, already deceased, did not lose its momentum despite having more than half of its neck bitten off.

But Fenrir was not just any divine beast.

She was the wolf divine beast who had fought alongside heroes in ancient times, tearing apart and killing the Fallen Lords, even though they were the lowest-ranked ones.

Fenrir activated her authority.

-Wind.

That was all.

But something incredible happened.

Whooosh!

The wind began to gather.

The strangely swirling wind, as if it had life, condensed into the form of wolves. There were dozens of them.

-Devour.

Thud!

The wolves of wind charged madly at the Black Tiger divine beast.

Crunch!

They tore into the Black Tiger in a single attack.

-Kraaaargh!

The Black Tiger divine beast, whose body had been shredded, howled in agony.

The three divine beasts faced off against the three undead divine beasts.

And the remaining divine beast, Blue Bear...

"These tiger bastards! You're all dead!"

He vented all his accumulated frustration on the Black Tiger Tribe's artificially created Sword Masters.

"Rooooaar!"

With a roar, Blue Bear unleashed his authority.

Boom! Boom! Kwaaang!

From the ground, massive stone pillars erupted, sweeping through the Black Tiger Tribe's warriors.

"Arghhhh!"

The Black Tiger warriors, struck by the rising stone pillars, either died instantly or screamed in agony from fatal injuries.

Even the grand warriors who had been elevated by the Philosopher’s Stone barely managed to hold on to their lives.

Over a dozen Sword Masters swarmed to kill Blue Bear, but it was useless.

Multiple Black Tiger Masters unleashed Aura Blades towards the bear divine beast.

But...

"Rise, oh rocks!"

Kwarurururur!

With an earthquake, a colossal stone wall surged up from the ground.

The wall was easily over 10 meters tall.

The Aura Blades from the Black Tiger Tribe crashed into the wall, making booming sounds as they struck the unfortunate barrier.

"Rise! Rise! Rise!"

Blue Bear didn’t stop there; he summoned stone walls all around.

"......!"

The Black Tiger warriors and the Western Forest Alliance Army could only gape at the overwhelming size of the walls rising right in front of them.

Blue Bear shouted the name of his alias, and the technique that would mark the end of their lives.

"Avalanche!"

The stone walls, over 10 meters tall, began to collapse all at once.

The Western Forest Alliance Army turned pale as they watched the walls getting closer and closer.

"Wait, wait...!"

Boom, boom, boom, bang!

The stone walls fell like dominos, sweeping them away.

Screams and death cries erupted everywhere, as hundreds of Western Forest Alliance soldiers died in an instant.

The artificially created Sword Masters, with their superhuman physical abilities, avoided instant death, but they were buried alive under the stone debris, unable to move.

"The divine beasts are with us! Warriors of nature, charge!"

"Waaaargh!"

The Eastern Army's morale soared to its peak as they watched the overwhelming power of the four divine beasts sweeping through the undead and the vanguard of the Western Forest Alliance.

The Blue Bear Tribe held the Western Army at bay like an unbreakable rock.

The Silver Wolf Tribe, with their swift speed, darted in and out, causing confusion among the immobilized Western Army.

In the sky, the Red Fox Tribe, who had secured air superiority on their griffins, rained down arrows and spears, attacking with spells and launching surprise attacks from above.

Each group played their part in perfect harmony, steadily extinguishing the enormous wildfire that was the Western Forest Alliance Army.

Bivaldi of Vice felt like his blood was drying up as he watched the scene unfold.

"The Flame Cat, the Avalanche, the Moon-Swallowing Serpent..."

These were the very beasts that, after the death of the treacherous Caliph, had been confirmed through subordinates to have lost their power.

But when the time came, it was different.

'Lost power, my ass! They're in perfect shape!'

How?

How could these divine beasts, who had supposedly lost most of their power, appear so intact?

Gritting his teeth, he glared at one person with bloodshot eyes.

"Aden Remes..."

The one who had continuously interfered with the organization's grand plan.

The enemy confirmed to have killed the treacherous Caliph and destroyed the Philosopher’s Stone.

That man was currently fighting one-on-one with Kaan.

He was deflecting and countering all of Kaan's attacks, who had reached the level of a High Sword Master.

This could only mean one thing.

Aden Remes had also become a High Sword Master.

His voice mixed with anger as he spat out his words.

"What kind of trickery have you pulled?!"

* * *

< Guardian of Spirit Dragon 'Leo,' 'Miao,' is engaged in battle.>

< Guardian of Spirit Dragon 'Leo,' 'Jormungandr,' is engaged in battle.>

< Guardian of Spirit Dragon 'Leo,' 'Fenrir,' is engaged in battle…>

Even as Aden fought, he kept hearing the continuous messages ringing in his mind.

Aden glanced at the terrifying performance of the divine beasts.

He decided to praise the one who made all this possible.

'Leo, well done. You did amazing!'

"Leo is great!"

Leo's prideful and triumphant emotions were transmitted to Aden through mental communication.

Leo had absorbed the divinity of the divine beasts trapped in the Philosopher’s Stone.

And after completing his second growth, Leo gained two abilities.

[Guardian Appointment]

[The Spirit Dragon is a high-ranking species even among mystical beasts, and they are born with the qualities of a great 'ruler.'

- You can appoint specific beings as 'Guardians' and share your power with them.

- The beings eligible for becoming Guardians must mutually agree to it.]

Leo was a Spirit Dragon, and Spirit Dragons were so great that they were also called the "Harmonizers of the Mystical Beasts."

‘And divine beasts are quite similar to mystical beasts.’

The only difference was whether they were born as superior beings or not, but divine beasts and mystical beasts were essentially the same.

Remembering this fact, Aden proposed to the divine beasts that they become Leo's Guardians, and they accepted.

It could have hurt their pride to submit to a young divine beast that had not even been born for a year yet.

But what wouldn't they do if it meant regaining their lost strength?

Their desire to recover their lost power was greater than any shallow pride.

Thus, Leo shared the power he had absorbed from the divine beasts back to them.

Of course, Leo was the one with divinity, so if he cut off the sharing, the divine beasts would return to their tiny, adorable forms.

Kwaaaang!

The gigantic sword that Kaan swung unleashed a crimson Aura Blade.

It was an attack containing the immense power of a High Sword Master.

The crimson wave of destruction surged towards Aden.

'If I were still at the Master level, I wouldn’t have even been able to attempt to counter this.'

No, if that were the case, he wouldn't have stepped forward to face Chief Kaan in the first place.

There was no chance of victory.

Just as only those who had reached the realm of superhumans could face other superhumans, only another High Sword Master could contend with a High Sword Master.

Aden grinned as he watched the crimson wave approaching him.

Fwoooosh!

He ignited the Sword of Baalzebul with black flames.

The Flames of the Dark Heavens.

He swung his sword downward.

Whooosh!

The black flames, embodying the endless hunger of a ravenous beast, surged towards the crimson wave.

Sword Dance of the Dark Heavens, First Form: Ravenous Blade.

The black flames, fueled by insatiable greed, devoured the crimson wave of destruction, splitting it apart.

The crimson tide was severed.

Kwaaaaang!

Instead, the remnants of the Aura ravaged the surroundings, leaving deep scars on the earth.

The eyebrows of Chief Kaan, who had been staring indifferently, twitched for a moment.

Aden's martial skill had surpassed his expectations.

"...You're strong."

Kaan remarked as he adjusted his grip on his spear.

Aden shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe you're just weak."

Aden responded with a sneer as he too adjusted his stance.

The man spoke to Aden.

"I will prove that my justice is true by cutting you down."

As if to demonstrate his resolve, crimson Aura gathered around Kaan's massive sword.

"Is that so? Then I'll beat you like a dog to prove that you're not a tiger, but just a mangy mutt."

Fwoooosh!

Aden's black flames flared up fiercely.

There was no need for more words.

A brief silence hung between them, like the calm before the storm.

But it was very brief.

"Hup!"

"Hup!"

Both men took a breath at the same time.

Taaan!

In an instant, the spear and sword clashed.

Kwooooom!

The calm before the storm shattered as a storm broke out in the middle of the battlefield.

A storm made of black flames and crimson light.