Chapter 266
Plyton possessed power equivalent to a Demon King, reaching an astonishing level of 9-star Jin (Advancement).
‘The absolute ruler who truly reigns as the Demon King of the Eastern Magic Kingdom.’
The place where the Four Kings’ Castle stood was within the Eastern Magic Kingdom, which, like other magic kingdoms, had a Demon King dispatched by the Demon Emperor.
However, the sixth-ranked “Silver Snow Demon King” was in poor condition and had been in seclusion for a long time, so Plyton, the lord of the Four Kings’ Castle, effectively ruled over the Eastern Magic Kingdom.
An immortal who had conquered death as a lich and reclaimed life.
[You intend to form a Dark Alliance?]
His voice was calm.
Yet, to those who heard it, it sent a chilling sensation as if death itself was brushing past them.
The elders of the Four Kings’ Castle swallowed hard and replied.
[Yes, my lord.]
Plyton slowly nodded.
It was as if a lifeless corpse was moving, and an aura of death seemed to hang thickly in the air around him.
[Prepare for war.]
Everyone in the council chamber widened their eyes.
[But we’re not ready yet?]
[It doesn’t matter.]
[!!]
Plyton smiled.
It was a smile like that of the Grim Reaper.
[In fact, we’ve been dragging this out far too long. It’s been dreadfully boring.]
The elders inhaled sharply.
Yet, no one dared to oppose him.
‘Our power is more than enough.’
Indeed, the Four Kings’ Castle had only been lying low all this time to perfect their strength, not because they lacked it.
If anything, standing idly by and watching the enemy grow would only be to their detriment.
[It’s time to begin the festival.]
And so, the clock of war began to tick faster than it had in Christian’s previous life.
The high-ranking dark mages who volunteered to duel the Destruction Mage were as follows:
Marquis Shufen.
Count Kazar.
His aunt, Merian.
Count Berkel of the Black Lion Knights.
And Count Hyunkel, the commander of the Five Generals.
Thanks to Christian’s tailored guidance, all five had achieved astonishing results.
Marquis Shufen had reached a perfect lower 8-star.
Count Kazar and Merian were at mid 7-star.
Counts Berkel and Hyunkel had reached lower 7-star.
Such unbelievable achievements made it hard to argue that the Dark Mage lacked top-tier mages anymore.
Yet, despite these great accomplishments, none of them were confident about the upcoming duel.
That was how formidable the Destruction Mage’s forces were.
Each of the five had to face opponents stronger than themselves.
“It’s alright. We can win. We just need to use the right strategy.”
“…You have a plan?”
Marquis Shufen looked skeptical.
“Our roles are crucial. Just listen for a moment…”
Christian’s whisper made Shufen’s eyes widen.
“Are you serious? You really think that’s possible?”
“Of course.”
“You’re… insane.”
Shufen swallowed a curse.
Christian’s plan sounded utterly ridiculous.
“Do you know why we’ve all grown stronger?”
Christian smirked.
“It’s not just you all. I’ve been growing stronger too.”
“!!”
In the final stretch, Christian had undergone special hellish training.
“Why such brutal training?”
“All for victory.”
“But why is the training so miserable…? Are you trying to torture us on purpose?”
It was so bizarre and grueling that they wondered if Christian was messing with them.
Time flew by, and the long-awaited day of the duel arrived.
“Let’s depart.”
The agreed duel location was midway between the Destruction Mage and the Dark Mage territories.
They passed through a warp gate near the destination.
Upon arrival, the place was desolate.
“Why is no one here?”
They waited silently, but no one appeared by the appointed time.
“Could it be…?”
“Yes, they’re deliberately late. To insult us.”
Marquis Shufen, Count Kazar, and the others flushed with anger.
No matter how outmatched they were, such disrespect between noble houses was intolerable.
‘Well, if they want to act childish, that’s fine by me.’
After a long wait, sounds approached from afar.
“Pwooo!”
The blare of trumpets echoed loudly.
The grand banner of Destruction.
The overwhelming presence of the mages.
The Destruction Mage had arrived.
Along with them were nobles from other houses who came as spectators.
They all seemed eager to watch how the Destruction Mage would trample the Dark Mage.
The Destruction Mage’s procession reached the Dark Mage’s side, and the clan head, Duke Besen, scanned the Dark Mage ranks.
“Hmm?”
Perhaps surprised by the Dark Mage’s unexpectedly strong achievements, a flicker of interest appeared in his eyes.
“Seems they struggled a bit, but in the end, they’re just rats.”
“!!”
“Stupid rats who don’t even know their place.”
The Dark Mage nobles’ faces hardened.
Yet no one dared speak.
Their opponent was Duke Besen, the Demon Lord of the army.
An 8-star upper-rank supreme mage, one of the strongest in the Magic Empire, rivaling even the Nordians.
Just as the Destruction Mage and the spectators were about to sneer at the Dark Mage’s plight—
“If that’s the case, the Destruction Mage will be trampled by these rats today.”
“!!”
“Sometimes, there are cats bigger than rats who are worth less than the rats themselves.”
It was Christian.
Everyone held their breath.
‘That reckless fool?’
‘Is he crazy?’
But Christian didn’t stop.
“I was expecting more from the Destruction Mage, given all the hype.”
He lifted his chin and surveyed the Destruction Mage side, just as Duke Besen had done.
Then, with his trademark irritating expression, he spoke.
“They don’t live up to the expectations.”
“!!”
The Destruction Mage nobles’ faces turned icy with rage at his continuous insults.
The dangerous, fiery aura unique to the Destruction Mage flared up, ready to explode.
“Do you truly want to die? If it weren’t for the Nordian clan head, you vermin would have long since fallen.”
“You’re not one to talk, always groveling before the Nordian clan head.”
“!!”
Struck at the core, Duke Besen’s face twisted in anger.
“Even the clan head told us not to worry about the Destruction Mage. He said we could crush them on our own.”
“…You bastard. Don’t expect to leave here in one piece.”
Besen’s fury silenced the room.
If not for the clan duel about to take place, he would have torn Christian to shreds on the spot.
Having sufficiently provoked them, Christian got to the point.
“By the way, I’m worried about something else.”
“…What?”
“What if, after the Destruction Mage loses, they refuse to honor the terms?”
The absurd suggestion left the Destruction Mage nobles dumbfounded.
“Why don’t you promise everyone here, right now? That if you lose, you’ll swear loyalty to our Dark Mage.”
“Hahaha!!”
Duke Besen laughed, a chilling laugh laced with fury.
“Fine. Don’t worry. But be prepared to pay the price for your reckless words. Schwar!”
A sharp-featured man stepped forward.
He was Schwar, the heir to the Destruction Mage.
In his early to mid-forties, he radiated a fully matured aura.
“So you’re Christian. Today, I’ll show you the sky’s height. You’ll never speak so carelessly again.”
Whoooosh!
A crimson aura flared.
A fierce energy worthy of the famed Oshin Star.
But Christian just gave a nonchalant look and spoke again.
“You’re going in alone?”
“…What?”
“Didn’t I say? You can’t handle me alone. You can team up with others if you want. Just don’t regret it after you get beaten.”
“Hah.”
Schwar chuckled bitterly.
“I should cut out my tongue to stop this nonsense…”
But then his expression suddenly stiffened.
He sensed something was off.
As the onlookers looked on in confusion—
Flash!
Blood splattered from his hand.
“Gah?!”
“!!”
Everyone’s eyes widened, unable to grasp what was happening.
The shock didn’t end there.
Again, blood splattered.
This time from his shoulder.
Had Schwar not twisted his body in time, it could have been a fatal wound.
Only then did people realize Christian had drawn his sword.
“You bastard! What trickery is this?!”
Flash!
A crimson magic shield enveloped Schwar’s body.
A sturdy barrier.
The spectators assumed Schwar was just caught off guard by a surprise attack, and no further surprises would come.
But then—
Flash!
Blood splattered again.
“!!”
The onlookers jumped to their feet.
Only now did they fully understand what Christian had done.
This wasn’t a mere surprise attack.
Christian’s strike had bypassed Schwar’s shield entirely and inflicted damage.
An impossible feat.
A miracle that defied the laws.
It was the moment Christian’s attainment of the 7-star Dominant Class was revealed for the first time.
“This can’t be!”
“7-star? No way!”
Everyone reacted in disbelief.
Christian wasn’t even close to twenty—he hadn’t even reached eighteen, the age of adulthood.
And yet, a 7-star rank?
Among the prodigies of the next generation, no one had ever reached 7 stars in their teens.
Reaching 6 stars as a teenager was already an unprecedented feat.
“No matter how gifted, that’s absolutely impossible.”
“There must be some kind of trick.”
Everyone forced themselves to believe that.
But then—
Swish! Slash!
The unexpected kept coming.
Every time Christian’s sword moved, blood splattered from Schwarz’s body.
“What?!”
Schwarz tried to defend himself, his face pale, but it was useless.
No matter what defense he used, it was as if the laws of physics were being ignored—he still took damage.
People could no longer deny that Christian’s attacks were nothing short of a miracle.
And there was something even more shocking.
“Is he toying with Archduke Schwarz?”
Schwarz kept getting wounded in the same spots.
In other words, Christian was deliberately inflicting only light injuries, even though he could have dealt a fatal blow at any moment.
“You bastard!!”
Enraged, Schwarz prepared to unleash destructive magic, but at that moment, another unbelievable event occurred.
Flash!
Suddenly, his magic faltered, and a surge of mana backfired violently.
“Ugh?!”
He coughed up blood and staggered backward, and the battle momentarily stalled.
Christian had intentionally given Schwarz a chance to recover.
“You okay? Don’t tell me you’re about to cry.”
“!!”
“See? I told you you couldn’t handle this alone. Why not ask for help now? You’ve always been good at hiding behind others’ skirts anyway.”