Chapter 348

But Chris still showed no sign of nervousness whatsoever.

“Aren’t your nicknames a bit too grandiose? What kind of kings are you, with skills like that? Aren’t you even a little embarrassed?”

“!!”

“It’s almost cringe-worthy. Come on, bring it on.”

At the snap of his fingers, Kwonwang’s face twisted in fury as he charged forward.

KRAAANG!!

It sounded like a boulder crashing down.

If Chris hadn’t twisted his body to dodge, the sheer force would have shattered every bone in his body in an instant.

“If you don’t want to get seriously hurt, drop to your knees right now!”

The Taming’s Suwang stepped up.

Fwoooosh!

A long, white-scaled serpent was summoned.

Of course, it wasn’t an ordinary snake.

It was a Baekryongsa—a half-dragon, half-serpent creature with dragon blood coursing through its veins.

A massive level 7 beast.

Kwonwang’s fist and Baekryongsa’s tail struck simultaneously.

But that wasn’t all.

“I’ll show you the true power of Seonghwi!”

Fwoooosh!!

Brilliant mana of light enveloped Kwonwang and Suwang.

It was Hwiwang of the Seonghwi noble family, specialists in Seonghwi’s power.

The strength of Kwonwang and Suwang was amplified even further, and then the Ju King of the sorcery noble family joined in.

“May you wander endlessly in the labyrinth!”

A sorcery spell said to have originated from the East.

Unlike ordinary white magic, it was a unique system of incantations. Talismans flew in all directions, and suddenly the surrounding vision warped.

A formation was unfolding, restricting Chris’s movements.

‘The sorcery noble family is the alliance’s top expert in formations.’

Even though it was conjured on the spot, it was a sophisticated formation that couldn’t be easily ignored.

With the combined assault of the four clan heads, Chris was quickly pushed onto the defensive, and the watching disciples shook their heads.

“This is hopeless.”

“No matter how strong the hero is, there’s no way he can take on all four clan heads at once.”

“Even the Magic Empire’s Mahi would find this impossible.”

“This will be over soon.”

But something was off.

Time passed, yet the duel showed no signs of ending.

Kwonwang’s fierce punches.

Baekryongsa’s biting fangs.

The dazzling light of Seonghwi.

The chilling sorcery that crushed body and mind.

None of it landed a single hit on the hero. Not even a graze.

Chris’s face remained calm and composed amid the storm of attacks.

In fact, it was the clan heads who began to show signs of growing anxiety.

“That bastard…”

Kwonwang clenched his fist tightly as he realized something watching Chris’s movements.

“Are you mocking us right now?!”

Chris wasn’t on the defensive at all.

He was simply watching their attacks by choice.

As if amused, like he was watching a childish performance.

There was proof.

Whenever the four clan heads attacked, Chris dodged or defended using only the secret techniques of their respective clans.

Against Kwonwang’s attacks, he used the body technique clan’s footwork; against Baekryongsa’s strikes, the divine beast clan’s secret arts. That was how he operated.

He wasn’t in any real danger.

“Ah, it’s not mockery. I’m just trying to figure out how best to teach you all.”

Chris continued, sounding exasperated.

“There’s so much that’s a mess, I’m honestly at a loss on how to instruct you. Are these really the clan heads of the Round Table?”

“!!”

He was serious.

Chris genuinely felt overwhelmed.

‘How am I supposed to make these guys pull their weight?’

Like it or not, the Round Table clan heads were important figures in the alliance.

‘At least these guys have the highest chance of reaching 8-star rank in the alliance.’

The alliance’s fatal weakness was the scarcity of top-tier experts—especially those above 8 stars.

To minimize damage when the coming calamity strikes, the Round Table clan heads had to grow into capable pillars.

The problem was, upon closer inspection, every single one of them had glaring flaws.

It was questionable whether they could be developed to the desired level.

‘No. I have to make it happen. Otherwise, I’ll have to step in myself and hold the line!’

With firm resolve, Chris began to move.

The tide of battle shifted immediately.

His first target was Kwonwang.

Snap!

Kwonwang’s face paled as Chris’s fist brushed past him.

‘Basic straight punch of our clan? But what the—?’

It was too soon to be surprised.

In an instant, countless punches rained down.

Kwonwang frantically raised his hands to block and dodge, but then he realized something.

Chris’s hand was already gripping his wrist.

He’d fallen into Chris’s trap.

‘Damn.’

He tried to pull free, but it was too late.

CRACK!

“Ugh!”

A joint lock from the body technique clan.

Still, Kwonwang was no pushover.

He twisted his arm desperately, preventing his wrist from breaking, but the ligaments were badly damaged.

He counterattacked with his other arm, only to be blocked again.

“Still don’t get it?”

Chris approached coldly.

“Just how lacking you really are.”

BAM!

A punch slammed into Kwonwang’s face.

Though he was using mana-enhanced body armor to protect himself from fatal damage, the mental shock was severe.

‘Did I really let a punch land on my face? Me, Kwonwang?’

But that was only the beginning.

BAM!

Another punch landed.

Right on the exact same spot as before.

“You bastard!!!”

Flushed with shame, Kwonwang retaliated fiercely.

Fist Dance of Chaos.

His fists flew in a dazzling flurry.

But—

“Hah. Are you an idiot?”

With a sigh of frustration—

THUD!

Chris’s straight punch shattered the Fist Dance of Chaos in one blow, and then his fists kept raining down on Kwonwang’s face.

“What’s the basic doctrine of the body technique clan? Don’t tell me you think flashy strength alone is the best?”

BAM!

“To subdue your opponent with the most efficient movements. You’re a clan head, yet you don’t even know this basic principle? And you call yourself Kwonwang? Did you turn your face into iron? Aren’t you ashamed?”

But Kwonwang couldn’t utter a word.

Every time he tried to speak, another punch struck his face.

The watching disciples swallowed hard at this absurd scene.

“W-what?”

“How is that even possible?”

This wasn’t a one-on-one fight.

Chris was effortlessly dodging and defending against all the other clan heads’ attacks while toying with Kwonwang.

And he was doing it using only the basic secret techniques of the body technique clan.

‘…Good thing he’s not cocky.’

Aiden thought, his face pale.

The thought that he could have ended up like that sent chills down his spine.

‘Father, didn’t I warn you he’s crazy? I’ll repay your grudge once I’m strong enough. So, maybe in about ten years.’

Eventually, Kwonwang collapsed, unable to hold out any longer, and Chris shifted his gaze.

The next target was Suwang.

“How dare you. Prepare yourself!”

Baekryongsa opened its jaws wide.

Just as it was about to unleash its Poison Breath—

Another unexpected event occurred.

Baekryongsa turned its head and instead sprayed the Poison Breath at Suwang.

“?!”

Suwang barely dodged, eyes wide with shock.

But that wasn’t all.

Baekryongsa bared its fangs and lunged to bite Suwang.

Chris had taken control of Baekryongsa!

“Y-you bastard! How? What trickery is this?!”

“No trickery. I tamed it using your clan’s own secret techniques.”

An unbelievable claim.

Chris’s anger only grew as he spoke.

“But I have to ask—why, as a clan head, don’t you follow your own clan’s teachings?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Isn’t it written in your clan’s secrets to befriend divine beasts? But you didn’t do that at all. You just subdued it with force.”

“!!”

“So it’s no wonder this cute friend here prefers me.”

Though both sides used taming to control beasts, the methods of the Ma-in and the alliance were completely different.

The Ma-in ruled their beasts through fear, power, and coercion.

The alliance, on the other hand, ‘inspired’ their beasts.

But Suwang’s method was neither.

He had inspired the beast, but imperfectly, and then forced it into submission.

Chris seized that gap.

‘I’m pretty good at sweet-talking and deception.’

Thanks to the growing resentment Suwang had toward him, Chris was able to exploit this easily.

“Do you think this is all I’ve got?!”

Suwang gritted his teeth and summoned three more level 6 beasts.

They were powerful reinforcements, but only made things worse.

“Now’s the time to vent all your frustration. Take revenge on the one who’s been using you all this time.”

The newly summoned beasts bared their teeth at Suwang.

“W-what?! What kind of sorcery is this?!”

“…It’s not sorcery. I’m the one who’s stunned. To give up control so easily.”

Chris clicked his tongue in disbelief.

‘When I fought the Beast King of the Ma-in’s Beast Magic clan before, I never dared to try stealing control like this.’

Either they suppressed the beast completely, or formed a strong bond through powerful empathy.

Neither was the case here, so the control was flimsy at best.

As the beasts turned on Suwang, a fierce energy suddenly surged toward Chris.

It was Hwiwang.

“Watch out!!”

Whoosh!

A mace wrapped in pure white mana, wielded by the Seonghwi knights, flew toward Chris.

He dodged the attack and said,

“Not bad. The basics are solid.”

In truth, Hwiwang was the weakest among the clan heads.

He was only a mid-level 7-star.

But he wasn’t bad.

Unlike the others, he had properly built his foundation.

Though behind now, he was the most likely to reach 8 stars fastest.

‘I should give him some credit.’

“I’ll show you what true Seonghwi power really is.”

Fwoooosh!

A fierce energy surged from Chris’s body.

The hero’s power—the radiant mana of brilliance.

“Watch closely. This is the level you’ll spend your entire life striving to reach.”

Seong-hwi’s energy surged fiercely toward Hwi-wang.

Hwi-wang met it head-on, gathering his own strength to counter the force.

Two pure, radiant energies clashed in midair.

“Ah… ah.”

Hwi-wang’s pupils trembled.

It wasn’t just that Chris’s energy was overwhelmingly strong.

In fact, if you measured sheer power alone, there wasn’t much difference between Hwi-wang and Chris.

Chris’s main energy was demonic magic, not Seong-hwi’s pure mana.

What unsettled Hwi-wang was the will embedded within Chris’s energy.

A will utterly free of impurity.

Unwavering, noble, and pristine.

“How can something be this beautiful?”

Hwi-wang’s chest tightened with emotion.

It was as if he had glimpsed an unreachable, perfect realm.

In that moment, all his fighting spirit drained away.

With a heavy thud, he dropped his mace and sank to his knees.

“…I yield.”

A declaration of surrender.

‘…I’m no match for him.’

Only then did Hwi-wang truly understand.

The hero’s claim that he had come to help was the truth.

That it was they who should be kneeling, asking for guidance.

It was only after the three clan heads knelt that—

Crackling!

Geometric patterns shimmered in the air, followed by a fierce surge of lightning.

It was the Ju clan’s spell.

At the same time, the surrounding vision wavered again.

A chilling murderous intent swept through the air.

“The highest-level formation of the Ju clan’s spellcraft—the Life and Death Extinction Array.”

So that’s what they’d been quietly preparing.

‘Not bad at all.’