NOVEL NEXT Chapter 29
Chapter
A halo appeared above Enok’s head, and as he began to reveal his momentum, the street buzzed with excitement.
“Ugh…! M-Master?”
“What are two Masters doing in this remote area…!”
Purple lightning flickered through the eyeholes of the mask.
The Lord frowned at the sight.
“What’s a Master like you doing here?”
“You were the one who swung the sword first, weren’t you?”
Having said his piece, Enok took a step forward.
At that very moment…
Lightning surged from the ground.
[Kwajajak—!]
The Lord leaped onto his horse to evade.
The horse, which had been standing still, kicked up and tilted its head in confusion.
The rising lightning aimed straight for the Lord, avoiding the horse.
“You insolent fool.”
Realizing that Enok was treating him lightly, the Lord infused his sword with power.
[Whoosh—!] A bright light clung to the blade.
However, the look in Enok’s eyes was peculiar.
“So you’re not a Master after all?”
“Stop with the nonsense.”
“Ki without a star is just a lump of sword energy.”
Enok casually waved his hand.
[Kwaang—!] The Lord swung his sword to block.
But the moment he sensed the flow of mana in the air, he swiftly retreated.
[Crackle—!]
The lightning that flashed in the air made the Lord swallow hard.
Unfazed, Enok nonchalantly snapped his fingers.
‘These gloves might be better than I thought.’
Having forgotten his gloves when he bolted out of the house, Enok was now bare-handed.
He hadn’t realized how much he relied on them until he wasn’t wearing them.
As Enok quietly observed the Lord, a loud shout erupted among the mercenaries.
“Rebellion! Help the Lord!”
Max, next to the screeching man, patted his shoulder as if to say well done.
‘It was unexpected for him to be a Master. Given this situation, I need to help the Lord and take that guy down.’
He was already seen as a target of enmity.
Honestly, he thought he wouldn’t care about it, but for some reason, that little brat’s gaze made him uneasy.
In that case, he should take action before he himself was dealt with.
Then he could owe the Lord a favor, which would be a win-win situation.
But, since he was already entangled with the Master in a hidden relationship, he couldn’t survive on half-baked thoughts.
By any means necessary, he would pull the Lord into it and deal with this situation.
Max raised his axe in response to the shout.
“Help the Lord!”
In turn, numerous mercenaries raised their weapons.
Max’s subordinates, those siding with the Lord, and others swept up in the atmosphere.
Enok was instantly isolated.
He suddenly thought.
‘By the way, I still don’t know the name of this city.’
I should find out later, Enok decided as he drew up the mana in his body.
[Crackle—!] Lightning burst across his body.
With the halo slowly rotating above his head, Enok took a careful deep breath.
‘False Thunder God Transformation ends here. Pushing the output further would put strain on my body.’
Now, as it flickered between existence and non-existence, the halo was at its best form.
And that was enough.
The realm of being a Master.
And the sensations of the Heavenly Carnage Thunder God Technique started to return to him.
[Kuwung—!]
As he slammed his foot down, the lightning spread around him like fog.
The mercenaries stumbled back.
At the same time, acceleration.
[Swish—!]
In an instant, Enok stood before the Lord, bending both hands.
[Carnage慘殺]
Countless carnage strikes rained down upon the Lord.
The Lord gritted his teeth and defended himself.
Without pause, he swung his sword, parrying every attack.
However, Enok’s offensive was not merely martial arts.
Though he had been using it since earlier, he was only now getting accustomed to the Heavenly Carnage Thunder God Technique.
His movements constituted an incantation, and the mana flowing within him formed a magic circle.
Triggering countless strikes of Carnage conjured up innumerable spells.
“What…! Simultaneously casting spells…!?”
The astonished Lord gasped, gathering strength.
His sword gleamed brilliantly.
Soon, the dark blue blade was swung as if to erase everything in front of him.
[Kwaaaan────────!!!]
Rising smoke filled the air.
Chaos was the favorite of mercenaries.
“Strike!”
“Waaaaah…!”
The mercenaries at the front raised their shields as they came forward.
Those with spears followed behind, while lassos and nets cascaded in from further back.
“Eri.”
[Kyut!]
At Enok’s summons, the materialized Eri deflected everything coming their way.
Then, Enok extended his hand.
Eri rushed over and perched on his palm.
“Do well.”
[Kyung!]
Enok tucked Eri into his chest.
entrusting the control of the Central Dantian to Eri, Enok delicately adjusted the False Thunder God Transformation and began reciting the incantation inscribed before him.
[Under a single bond, as one star, I shall tear and kill all before me.]
Now that he looked back, he felt a bit embarrassed, but it was a genuine realization.
The foundational mental techniques of the Estor House had now melded into the Heavenly Carnage Thunder God Technique.
The newly inscribed incantation at the beginning called upon the star within Enok’s heart.
“Ah….”
Mana clung to his hand, imbued with starlight.
That star represented his feelings for Rionne and, at the same time, was proof of himself.
It was the star he raised, and it was thus himself.
Therefore, the Ki he wielded was merely an embodiment of his mind.
The form of his heart manifested as a star, embedding itself in his own mana—a brilliant miracle.
[Zzzzzzzz……]
The highly agitated lightning calmed down, now possessing a distinct form while cradling the star within.
This was true Ki.
A higher being than a mere lump of assembled mana.
Simultaneously, Enok understood.
Ki infused with his own mental state was akin to a small power.
As many as the countless crossroads of life’s trajectory, true Masters each possessed their own unique powers.
And Enok’s power was…,
“Wait. This isn’t the time for that.”
The trance was shattered.
Though he could enter that realm at will, the unpleasantness of returning to reality settled in, and Enok glared at the Lord.
“Didn’t you hear? The monster wave is upon us. We don’t have time to bicker amongst ourselves.”
“What do I care? Can’t you at least manage your own body amidst a pack of monsters?”
“Then who will protect this city, and its people?”
Hmph, Enok snorted.
“People should protect themselves. They can hope for help, but it isn’t a right.”
“I am a Lord. I have a duty to protect them; they have a right to be protected.”
“I’m not a Lord.”
Realizing his words held some truth, the Lord momentarily fell silent.
“…You have some humanity within you, don’t you? We need to halt our squabble and first fend off the monster wave.”
“I don’t like humans.”
It would be different if they were elves, but did he really need to step in to protect humans?
Enok voiced his sincere doubts.
“And you attacked first, didn’t you?”
“…….”
The Lord’s brow furrowed.
He refrained from mentioning that it was to maintain discipline or that he found it strange for someone responding like that.
After all, further conversation would only go in circles, holding no real meaning.
Given their differing values, persuasion was futile.
In that case…,
“Well, whatever. The mood is ruined. It’s annoying.”
Enok dropped his fighting spirit.
The Lord blinked in surprise, but Enok merely clicked his tongue.
“You have plenty of other opponents anyway.”
With one step forward, lightning swirled around him.
The mercenaries retreated en masse at the rapid movement of Enok’s form.
“Hmm.”
Before he knew it, Enok found himself in front of Max, tilting his head.
Max, sweating profusely, smiled nervously.
“What’s up? Why do you look like that?”
“……”
“No matter how you look at it, we’re the city’s Lord. We can’t just not choose sides, right?”
“……”
“Besides, I didn’t step in that much. Let’s just settle down, okay?”
Enok’s hand moved.
Meanwhile, Max twisted his body and swung his axe.
But it was too late.
[Slap—!]
Enok’s hand struck Max’s sweaty bald head.
“Whoa.”
The strength in Max’s legs gave out, and he collapsed.
Enok nodded as he wiped his hand on a nearby mercenary’s clothes.
“Satisfied.”
Max’s dark motives or whatever had become less interesting than the shine off his bald head.
After all, he didn’t feel threatened by anything they could do.
If they ever became a threat… well.
Wouldn’t that be more entertaining?
With a flicker—
Enok’s figure disappeared from his spot.
*
On the castle walls.
The Lord infused mana into his voice.
“Everyone hold your ground! If everyone fulfills their roles in their positions, the walls will never fall!”
A dark wave rolled in from afar.
Every single point of that small wave was a monster.
The Lord, although a Master himself, had seldom experienced anything like the sudden monster wave and couldn’t hide his unease.
‘What’s happening?’
Recently, dungeons have been appearing more frequently.
That indicated something was off with the flow of mana.
For now, this might settle, but would this truly be the end?
The Lord didn’t think so.
Of course, he didn’t believe this was an event outside the influence of the demigods governing the continent.
They were either neglecting it or had unleashed some chaos that caused this.
For the lofty ones, trivial lives were no different than insects crushed underfoot.
They shouldn’t expect recognition lightly.
Then, the insects could only survive as best they could.
“Raise your weapons! Our home…”
[Rumblerrrrr────────!!!]
A clear thunderclap echoed in the bright sky.
Purple lightning streaked across the blue heavens.
All eyes were drawn to the single bolt of lightning.
“What the….”
The Lord was no exception.
He glared at the purple streak etched across the clear sky.
“What on earth are you thinking…?”
The Lord, grinding his teeth, pondered deeply.
Although he was a Master, facing monsters outnumbering the beastmen, he couldn’t hold off that force alone.
But if that unknown Master were to assist, perhaps the monster wave could be countered without much difficulty.
So, should he open the gates and charge forth?
How could he trust that wild man?
Most importantly, that would put his soldiers at significant risk.
Having made his judgment, the Lord shouted.
“All units, standby! Maintain a state of readiness until given further orders!”
*
Enok leaped toward the swarm of monsters he glimpsed from afar.
Strength and confidence emanated from his sustained False Thunder God Transformation.
‘There’s still plenty of time.’
With this output, he could last about two hours.
So there was no reason not to dive in there.
[No! What are you doing, you crazy person!?]
“What’s the matter?”
[Why are you trying to worm your way in there? Can’t you hear Rionne’s heart shattering!?]
Startled, Enok’s body froze.
But it was alright.
Didn’t Rionne say?
“If we can’t win, it’ll be fine. I’ll compliment you for doing well.”
[You little… are you a genius!?]
“Yep.”
[That’s not a compliment, you idiot!]
Can spirits get high blood pressure?
Undine finally put an end to that long-standing dilemma.