Chapter 615
Episode 159: The Duel of the Fighting Kings (Part 2)
Even after unleashing the Reign of the Dark King Sword, Jin didn’t collapse from exhaustion as he had before.
The insight he’d gained from repeatedly facing life and death in the Sword Emperor’s Trial, combined with the half-sense of unity with his fighting spirit, had strengthened his stamina.
He had swiftly defeated one of the Dark King clan’s Twelve Fighting Kings without even using the newly mastered ultimate technique of the Spirit Sword.
Yet, Jin felt no satisfaction. Having touched the edge of nothingness, even such a great achievement failed to stir much emotion within him.
After the first match of the Fighting Kings tournament ended, Jin wandered around Laprarosa like a ghost, his expression vacant and distant.
The only time his eyes sharpened was when other Fighting Kings were battling. Then, he focused intently, analyzing their moves.
But once the fights ended, he drifted again, aimless and dazed.
“I’m starting to worry that Jin might really lose his mind at this rate,” Tanthel said, popping the cork off a bottle of gem liquor as he sat beside him.
Jin was perched atop a spire near the fighting arena, gazing up at the sky.
“Oh, Tanthel. You’re here?”
“You didn’t even notice I arrived?”
“Wait, what did you just say?”
“Oh dear. Explain yourself—why are you like this?”
It was a troubling problem.
A problem born of fullness. Experiencing the sensation of the fighting spirit made his own emptiness feel all the more insignificant.
“You’re too full for your own good.”
Tanthel shook his head after hearing the situation.
“Brother, considering your age, you’re practically still a newborn. Yet just days ago, you defeated a Dark King clan Fighting King. Even if he was the weakest among the Twelve, he was still undeniably a Fighting King.”
Jin’s victory over Teto meant he was now qualified to be a Fighting King of the Dark King clan.
“I know that.”
No one knew better than Jin himself.
But this training was his last chance before the inevitable great war between the massive powers. The stronger he became, the more anxious he felt.
He worried whether, when he returned, he could protect his comrades and family from the enemies.
As Tanthel said, his achievements and influence were remarkable for his age, but the enemies were certainly greater in number and strength.
If only he could summon his brothers from the spirit realm, the tide could turn in an instant—but that was a distant hope.
“Since you know, be careful, Jin. Read the atmosphere too.”
“The atmosphere?”
“Don’t you feel the jealousy?”
“My brothers are jealous of me?”
“Ha, why wouldn’t they be?”
Jin had received countless privileges in Laprarosa. Before even becoming a brother, he had already mastered the Dark King Sword and received the fighting spirit blood transfusion.
“Of course, now that you’re one of us, all your achievements are our pride. But the others are human too. Brother Teto trained for over a hundred years to become a Fighting King, and many others worked even harder but never made it.”
It was something Jin had never considered.
Since being accepted as a brother, he had only ever been loved by the Dark King clan. They always rushed to help him, eager to share in his accomplishments, and whenever he was summoned by the Black Call, they treated it like a blessing of a lifetime.
Now, hearing that those brothers might feel jealousy was almost unimaginable.
“…I feel sorry for them.”
“No need to feel sorry for everyone. Many brothers don’t feel jealousy—they’re just proud of you. I’m one of those.”
Jin took the gem liquor from Tanthel and drank; a sharp warmth spread through his chest.
“This Fighting Kings tournament is the only chance for brothers to express such envy and jealousy. Though the rules forbid killing, every participant fights with their life and soul.”
Listening to Tanthel, Jin’s face flushed, and his chest tightened.
He felt ashamed.
“So focus more and fight with your mind clear. No matter the outcome, your brothers will still cherish you as before… but never forget that they’re human. If even a little resentment lingers, it will fester someday.”
Jin met Tanthel’s gaze.
Suddenly, the image of the Fighting Kings who had glared at him with murderous intent after his match with Teto flashed through his mind.
“Thank you, Brother Tanthel. You’ve really cleared my head. But what’s that paper?”
“It’s nothing. Really, nothing!”
Tanthel tried to hide the paper hastily, but Jin grabbed his wrist. The paper read:
Seventh Duel
Hell Great Sword Tournament, Fighting King No. 8 Garmund vs. Storm’s Successor, Brother Jin
Odds: 1.5 : 7
Who will be the victor?
“…Gambling?”
“J-just a little entertainment. Betting with gem liquor. It’s a secret from the fighting spirit brothers!”
Now that he thought about it, Jin recalled seeing Tanthel carrying gem liquor bottles recently.
Tanthel had bet on Jin in the first duel.
“You don’t really think the fighting spirit brother wouldn’t know, do you?”
“Anyway, you have to win, Jin! I bet all my gem liquor on you. If you win, you’ll never have to worry about drinks again!”
Watching Tanthel dash away like he was fleeing, Jin chuckled softly.
The next day, the main arena was once again engulfed in crackling blue lightning.
“The seventh duel will now begin.”
Jin and Garmund faced each other, and the lightning calmed.
Jin judged that Garmund was roughly mid-tier among the Dark King clan’s Fighting Kings.
“Maybe lower, but definitely a different class from Brother Teto.”
Normally, Jin wouldn’t stand a chance.
But Garmund wasn’t in perfect condition. Unlike Jin, who had rested since his fight with Teto, Garmund had fought intense battles with several challengers this morning.
Though not seriously injured, he showed signs of fatigue.
“Are you underestimating me, Brother Garmund?”
“Think what you will. The outcome is already decided.”
Garmund showed none of his usual boisterousness. Only a fierce determination to crush his opponent remained.
Whoosh!
As Ban stepped back, Garmund’s greatsword came crashing down right before Jin’s face. Jin blocked it, feeling a shattering shock ripple through his body.
Instinctively, Jin used his aura to disperse the impact outward, and Garmund narrowed his eyes in surprise.
“That sensation!”
The fighting spirit’s sense.
To so easily dissipate an impact that should have caused internal injury was a level Jin had never reached before.
His training to awaken the half-sense was finally bearing fruit.
Not only that, he vividly recalled how he had parried Garmund’s sword in a state of fighting spirit unity during the opening match.
“Brother Garmund is slow.”
Of course, this was relative. Garmund wielded a greatsword that weighed as much as several men with the ease of a dagger. His footwork left afterimages, but compared to other Fighting Kings, he was not agile.
Instead, Garmund compensated for his lack of speed with overwhelming power. He filled every opening created by his slower pace with explosive lightning and aura.
“If I can break through that, I’ll at least have one advantage over Brother Garmund.”
That breakthrough came in the first exchange. By dispersing the shock through his body outward, Jin pierced through.
Garmund had to respond hastily to this unexpected tactic right as the fight began.
“Hah! So the fighting spirit brother has developed his body technique this far after tasting the fighting spirit’s sense? So he wasn’t just humoring the challengers this morning.”
Though Garmund showed no outward signs of confusion or panic, he skillfully pushed back against Jin’s attack and devised a new strategy.
“I’ll have to end this quickly.”
Garmund expected Jin to unleash the Reign of the Dark King Sword. While Jin was dispersing the shock well, he hadn’t yet gone beyond that.
So Garmund knew a decisive strike was coming, one wielding immense destructive power.
The strongest swords Jin possessed were the Reign of the Dark King Sword, the Flame of Vengeance, or the Spirit Sword’s ultimate technique.
“Flame of Vengeance can’t reach full power without Tess, and Jin probably wants to save the Spirit Sword’s ultimate for a last resort.”
That left only the Reign of the Dark King Sword.
“His confidence must be high. He saw Brother Teto get overwhelmed without landing a single blow.”
Garmund was certain he could meet Jin’s Reign of the Dark King Sword head-on and shatter it.
No—it wasn’t just confidence. He was sure. His Fighting King technique surpassed the power of a single Reign of the Dark King Sword.
As expected, lightning gathered around Jin’s radiant heart.
“When Jin unleashes the Reign of the Dark King Sword, I’ll shatter it with my Fighting King technique and trigger a backlash…”
Garmund waited for his chance.
But even after more than thirty minutes of combat, the lightning around Jin’s radiant heart showed no sign of transforming into a secret technique.
“Hoh, you knew all my thoughts?”
Realizing this late, Garmund spoke, and Jin smiled.
“No brother could fail to read Brother Garmund’s thoughts. You always wear everything on your face.”
“Then I have no choice but to go first!”
Even if the move had been anticipated, it wouldn’t have been a problem. The reason for drawing out the counterattack to end it quickly was simply to minimize the damage to Jin as much as possible.
Krrrkkk—!
Garmund’s energy began to converge into a single point.
The aura swirling around his greatsword was enough to fell Jin with a single strike.
“You can’t possibly handle this sword, brother.”
But unfortunately, there was one move Garmund hadn’t accounted for.
Just before unleashing his technique, he failed to notice Jin slipping in at an even faster speed, cutting into his blind spot.
He never expected that Jin’s martial arts and swift footwork—which had already neutralized his destructive power—could become even faster in that moment.
‘He moved even faster than that!? Piercing through my energy…!’
Sigmund’s blade pressed against the back of Garmund’s neck.
“It’s over, brother Garmund.”
Shrugging, Garmund released the energy gathered around his greatsword.
“Damn it, I never thought I’d lose so easily.”
[Yeah, what if that annoying guy beats the Twin Kings again? You guys weren’t this intense when you were pressuring me!]
Lingling chimed in, and Ban stepped in to halt the duel, quietly announcing Jin’s victory.
‘If Brother Garmund had thought just a little deeper, he would have definitely lost. Lucky… I never expected another victory like this since the Teto brothers…’
Just as Jin reached that thought, one of the royal clan members watching shouted out.
“Damn it! You’re all joking around. Twin Kings of the Twelfth and Eighth Houses—how can you call yourselves the great Twin Kings of the royal clan?”