Chapter 923
Episode 230: Invasion and Assault (4)
Just by facing Paelito’s back, they could feel it.
He was a swordsman who could cut through anything without even holding a sword. A master who had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship, without a doubt a Changsung.
A Sword Demon.
The only one in the Jinma realm, a being who looked down on billions of demons except for Jito.
Within the magic energy filling the air, sword energy could burst out at any moment. The group readied their swords, senses sharpened for the attack. Even Murakan silently reinforced his spiritual shield.
But Paelito seemed to consider such crude ambushes unnecessary, patiently waiting for Jin to speak. Still, he didn’t turn around.
“Sword Demon, Paelito Belgassium. You recognize me immediately.”
“It’s inevitable. The first thing I realized upon ascending to Inse was not the bright light of the true sun I had longed for underground… but that Sakiel Groshier no longer exists in this world.”
“You must have cared for him deeply.”
“He was indispensable to the Jinma realm.”
His voice heavy with suppressed sorrow.
Paelito couldn’t help but recall what Keliak had told him.
—In my view, you have yet to calm your heart completely.
How could anyone fight while erasing all this grief?
Even one who had reached Changsung could not bear such loss. Paelito accepted this truth and calmly looked at his reflection in Talaris’s duel field.
“How did Sakiel’s end come about?”
“He was not cowardly.”
“I’m not asking something so obvious. Jin Runkandel, what did she seem to desire in her final moments?”
“Paelito. To me, Sakiel was nothing but an invader. A terrible monster who would sacrifice millions, tens of millions, even hundreds of millions of subordinates—and even himself—for Jito’s sake. That’s why I killed him. You ask me how such a madman must have felt? How would I know? Even if I did, I have no intention of speaking for the enemy.”
“Ah, right… I had forgotten for a moment. You are still a breed unrefined by pain.”
Crack…!
Suddenly, a fissure appeared in the center of Talaris’s duel field where Paelito was staring. His energy began tearing the duel field apart.
“Let’s postpone honoring Sakiel for now. Today, this Holy Nation will vanish without a trace.”
The moment Paelito drew his sword—
Jin surged forward first, stabbing his sword into Paelito’s back. Almost simultaneously, Murakan exhaled sharply, and Dante and Hedo spread out to the sides, releasing sword energy.
Clang—!
But Paelito shattered the duel field faster. Their attacks passed through empty air as he had already broken through Ayula’s shield and Talaris’s duel field, descending swiftly.
‘To break the Duel Field of the Bow Master so easily!’
‘Faster than Jin. I can’t read his movements…!’
Though the Holy Nation’s shield had to be less dense to cover the entire territory, Talaris was clearly unleashing the full power of Manbing.
Yet such a duel field was torn apart like paper by a single strike without any preparation.
Beneath it were the Holy Nation’s priests, knights, and citizens. And Paelito had not come to the Holy Nation to kill soldiers and civilians separately.
If this continued, tens of thousands of people would be mercilessly slaughtered soon. Even the Holy Nation’s finest knights could not hold Paelito for a minute.
If Paelito chose not to fight Jin’s group and instead unleashed massacre and destruction on the civilians first, no one could stop it perfectly—not even Siron and the expedition force if they were here instead.
But fortunately—
Ayula had left her power behind in the Holy Nation for just such an occasion. Her protective shield did more than block external invasion.
Swoosh—!
As Paelito broke through Ayula’s shield and stepped inside, golden spears suddenly formed in the air around him.
‘Ayula’s Spears…!’
The twenty golden spears Ayula had wielded against Jito, divine weapons radiating sharp light to pierce intruders. Their power was enough to make even Jito shudder in pain.
Zing—!
Paelito deflected the spear flying straight at him. For a moment, the impact pushed him back.
Yet, despite the narrow margin, he blocked every spear flying at him from all directions. The deflected spears swirled in the air before targeting him again.
The spears slowed Paelito down. Seizing the moment, the group rushed him with a barrage of attacks.
Twenty divine spears, three swords of a Changsung on the verge of ascension, and Murakan’s spiritual energy.
All perfectly combined to press Paelito, yet he showed no sign of faltering.
Jin felt chills run down his spine.
‘If not for Ayula’s Spears, at least one city in the Holy Nation would have been wiped out by now.’
The shockwaves exploding above had already brought mountains into view crumbling. Tsunamis relentlessly battered the seas, clouds scattered into shapelessness, roads and small villages vanished.
Fortunately, no casualties had been spotted yet. Jin kept extending his senses toward the ground throughout the battle to confirm this.
The battlefield’s altitude was rapidly dropping.
Ayula’s spears had a clear purpose.
‘The spears are herding him, preventing Paelito from falling into civilian areas. That means Ayula judged that her shield alone couldn’t kill Paelito. If this continues, the battlefield will soon become the Velium Plains.’
If it became the Velium Plains, at least the Holy Nation’s citizens wouldn’t be swept away by shockwaves during the fight.
Paelito seemed to roughly understand Jin’s and Ayula’s intentions.
‘Is this the will of an immortal who can fight Jito head-on? Annoying. I can’t strike the Holy Nation properly until I get rid of all those spears.’
Then he would get rid of the spears.
Paelito accepted the flow the spears were guiding him along. Now, he focused on Jin’s group’s attacks rather than the spears.
“Jin Runkandel. You asked if I cared for Sakiel. Now I ask you—are the insects living in this Holy Nation precious to you? You keep worrying about them. It’s surprising you have such composure against me.”
Paelito knew Jin was constantly checking on the civilians.
His surprise was genuine. Paelito was amazed that Jin could endure his killing intent and still care about others.
It was the first time he had seen such a strong ‘human’ firsthand. A moment that reminded him why the world needed an order of suffering.
“There’s no reason for them to be sacrificed in a war between the powerful. You wouldn’t understand, since you’re the type to use even your subordinates as offerings without hesitation. You said you cared for Sakiel, but in the end, if it was Jito’s order, you would have used Sakiel like disposable goods.”
Kraaaang…!
The fall ended. As Jin’s group landed in the middle of the Velium Plains, the twenty spears rained down simultaneously above Paelito’s head.
But Paelito deflected them all at once.
The golden spears scattered, piercing the thick dust rising around them, and Paelito’s eyes flashed sharply.
Sword Demon’s Secret Technique
Hwangcheon Sword
For a moment, the group’s vision blurred.
Paelito’s magic bound their bodies, causing the effect. Hundreds of magic threads shot up from somewhere, relentlessly stabbing at their eyes.
“Ugh!”
After scattering to avoid the magic, Hedo was the first to be attacked.
He clearly sensed the violet sword energy descending on him. Though Paelito’s sword was as fast as light, it wasn’t so fast that a superhuman like Hedo couldn’t perceive it.
But just as he thought he had blocked it—
Hedo’s blurred vision flipped upside down, as if his head had been slammed into the ground.
‘What…?!’
He couldn’t understand it.
He hadn’t felt anything touch his body. No power or invisible force knocked him down, nor had he lost consciousness and woken up.
His vision had literally flipped upside down in an instant.
Reflexively, Hedo tried to get up. He needed to regain his stance quickly to survive the next strike.
But he hadn’t fallen or hit the ground. So trying to steady himself only disrupted his stable posture.
What was distorting Hedo’s senses was the nature of Paelito’s Hwangcheon Sword.
The pinnacle of swordsmanship Paelito wielded could twist an opponent’s senses by sheer will alone. Unlike illusions or mental magic, it was closer to reality manipulation.
Hedo’s vision kept malfunctioning—flipping upside down, then fracturing like broken glass repeatedly.
It all happened in less than a second. Hedo closed his eyes, preparing to awaken his mind’s eye. Even that was a response only possible because he was Hedo.
Like a gust of wind, Paelito passed through the sword shields of Hedo’s comrades and plunged his sword into Hedo’s chest.
Thud—!
Even Luna and Luntia had to admit it—their tough armor was being pierced as if it were a child’s soft skin. Blood and flesh splattered everywhere.
If their comrades hadn’t managed to slightly alter Paelito’s attack trajectory, the Underworld Sword would have pierced straight through Hedo’s chest.
The blade barely grazed Hedo’s shoulder blade as he scrambled to keep his footing. Just as Paelito reached to retrieve his sword, Hedo drove the greatsword’s hilt into Paelito’s side and grabbed his neck with his left hand—trying to prevent him from dodging Ayula’s incoming spear.
But Hedo’s left hand grasped only empty air. Paelito had stepped back just in time, then turned and swung Ayula’s spear down in a clean strike.
No one here could replicate what Paelito had just done.
Swish!
The spear split perfectly in two, fragments scattering to either side of Paelito. He even managed to deflect the next barrage of spears, turning the attackers’ own weapons against them and forcing Jin’s group to back off.
Paelito then casually withdrew, eyes locking onto Jin and the remaining nineteen spears. His murderous intent was no longer aimed at Hedo.
It was focused solely on Jin. Only Jin.