Overgeared

There was only one reason why the half-draconians enjoyed the act of fighting. It was in order to become stronger. Their purpose was to gain more experience, become stronger, and kill people more easily. That’s right. The concept was completely different from the Twilight Orc’s worship of power.

The Twilight Orcs dreamed of becoming respected warriors while the half-draconians were faithful to their primitive desires. It was the desire of Evil Dragon Bunhelier to slaughter.

“...Kuaaack!”

Praba was stabbed with a sharp thorn and spread his wings with a growl. He used the shockwave to blow himself backward. He flew all the way to the end of the stage while staring at Laden’s iron rod.

“What is it made of?”

The scales of the half-draconians were not only hard, but it was also slippery. It meant that more than half of the impact it received could be lost and it wouldn’t be easily damaged. It was physically impossible for the thin iron rod that weighed the same as a longsword to easily break the scales of the half-draconians.

Praba noticed that there was a secret hidden in the iron rod. However, he didn’t know precisely what it was because his intelligence was limited. How could he recognize the power of a long forgotten god of the East Continent? Under the stage, Jad watched the battle with a stiff expression and muttered, “...The weapon isn’t what matters.”

His gaze was fixed on Laden, not the iron rod.

‘He knows us very well.’

Praba was in combat and had to pay attention to the iron rod smashing his scales, but the third party, Jad, was different. In his view, the iron rod was just a secondary problem. He judged that they should be vigilant of Laden’s ability to grasp and attack the half-draconian’s personality and characteristics.

‘It is like he has fought us hundreds of times...’

Laden’s physical abilities were below Praba in every way. In particular, there were no advantages when it came to strength and speed. Even so, Laden grasped all sorts of their habits such as how the half-draconians used their wings and tails, the time it took to fire a Breath, and how to target gaps. He looked like he had been fighting against the half-draconians for all his life.

‘Is he from the imperial army?’

No, his skin was too beautiful for that. The knights and soldiers of the empire surrounding the half-draconian’s home had countless wounds on their bodies while Laden’s body was relatively clean. In particular, there were no deep wounds that seemed to be caused by the claws of the half-draconians.

Praba was firing a Breath. Laden seemed to expect this and changed his shield to block it. He accelerated instantly and rushed in front of Praba. If he aimed for the side or the rear then Praba could’ve counterattacked but Praba didn’t have a chance to use the tail if he came from the front.

“It is ridiculous!”

Praba’s thoughts were very simple. He stretched out his arms toward Laden who was coming from the front like a moth. His sharp claws reflected the sun’s rays and flashed, dazzling Laden’s vision. However, Laden was calm. He leaned forward while charging straight ahead as planned.

Praba’s claws cut Laden’s hair, not his forehead. Unlike the hook claws of other beasts, the claws of the half draconians were straight like knives and thus were somewhat vulnerable to enemies who attacked from the bottom.

“...!”

A chill went down Praba’s spine. He finally realized after seeing Laden avoid the claws with a gap of less than a centimeter. ‘This guy, is he targeting my weaknesses?’

What did this mean?

Praba was stabbed again and again in the chest. Cough. He coughed up blood and his health was dangerously low. Nevertheless, Praba noticed. Laden’s damage had dropped significantly compared to a little while ago.

‘This person is at his limit.’

The reason why Laden was able to inflict great damage on Praba in his first and second blows was due to the proportional damage effect of the Kill with a Ferocious Pierce skill. Once the battle continued, the thorn was no longer a threat to Praba, whose health had dropped to 20%. Praba endured the shock with ease and hurriedly chased Laden. He struck at Laden without hesitation.

After being kicked in the abdomen, Laden flew to the edge of the stage and rolled. He suffered from severe internal injuries and coughed up blood. Praba abandoned his habits. Originally, he should’ve shot a Breath from a distance. Instead, he flew and approached Laden, stabbing his toenails. Praba’s claws inserted into the gap between the barbs of Triple Layers and were blocked.

‘That armor and shield are annoying.’

It happened when Praba clicked his tongue and tried to pull out his toenails...

The barbs easily shattered Praba’s claws without releasing them. It was the weapon breaker effect. Laden’s Triple Layers was just a replica of Grid’s Triple Layers but it performed better than the original. It was because the current Grid’s craftsmanship level was higher than when the original was created.

“Kukuk! Kuhahahat!” Praba burst out laughing as his beautiful claws broke. It was the excitement and anticipation that was felt when killing a bug in front of him.

“Yes! Hold on for as long as possible!” Praba shouted as he ignored the damage of the thorn, which had fallen to the level of a skewer. He aimed his fists and feet at Laden.

“Kuek...!”

Laden’s expression darkened. He was frustrated by Praba who replaced his claws with fists the moment he realized the role that Triple Layers played. The spray that occurred every time Laden used the iron bar to block an attack corroded Praba’s scales but Laden couldn’t find any room to fight back and wondered if he could defeat this monster.

“Laden!”

“Please raise your head, Laden!”

Laden lay curled up like a turtle with his shield and could see below the stage. The tens of thousands of residents were cheering him on. They were those Laden vowed to protect but he didn’t have the confidence to protect them. He was looking at defeat despite the weapon, the two shields, and the armor that Grid had made all night.

‘...I’m sorry, Your Majesty.’

He wanted to live up to his king’s expectations but his wounded body wouldn’t move. Too many bones were broken. Laden’s knees eventually bent. The weight of Praba’s continued bombardment against the shield pushed Laden’s body to the limit.

“Ugh...!”

A chill went down Laden’s spine as he shuddered. He almost lost his shield. Even the light shield felt heavy.

‘It is the end.’

For the first 10 minutes of the battle against Praba, Laden was full of hope. Praba’s level was far inferior to the virtual half-draconian. He might not have won against the hypothetical half-draconian but he decided there was a chance against Praba. He was excited about building up the dignity of Frontier and living up to the expectations of King Grid. Now after 20 minutes, he realized it was just a fleeting delusion.

‘I was shameless.’

People praised Laden as a genius and he didn’t deny it. The reason he could accept the conveniences Duke Steim gave him was because he believed he had the talent to meet Duke Steim’s expectations. In the end, this was just arrogance. He wasn’t qualified.

It was the moment Laden realized this...

The thunderous wave that occurred every time Praba swung his fists and feet suddenly slowed down. Praba’s fists and feet seemed slow and Laden could barely follow it with his eyes. It felt like he could avoid it. His vision grasped Praba’s tail soaring, aiming for the small gap between the shield and the ground.

“...What?!” Praba’s face stiffened as he tried to pierce Laden’s neck with a surprise attack. He honestly became numb when he saw Laden avoid his tail with a slight twist of his head.

‘Shining brightly before death?’

Praba had committed numerous killings and experienced it. It was the fact that beasts and people often exerted their power when they were on the verge of dying. This was the current Laden. Therefore, Praba decided to step back for a while. He was expecting to see Laden die shortly, yet that didn’t happen

This was a genius who detected Shadow King Kasim when he was young. Laden had been steadily developing for years and fought hundreds of times with the half-draconian Heltavon yesterday. At this moment, he was in a life and death battle with Praba. This meant he gained enough experience for his natural talent to bloom.

[One genius has been born again through a defeat.]

At the same time, a world message appeared.

A shockwave was released from Laden. Praba hadn’t folded his wings even after seeing the spear that Laden threw in a surprise move yet this shockwave was powerful enough to make Praba reflexively fold his wings.

“Keuk!”

Praba first tried to rise into the sky. He needed time to figure out the situation. However, Laden didn’t give him a chance. The red blood that was sprayed all over the stage like paint. All the blood that he had shed was gathered on the Black Tortoise Thorn and he rushed at Praba, who was temporarily immobilized after folding his wings.

“You!” Praba spread open his wings to create a shockwave but there was a feeling that even this intangible energy was read by Laden. His talent of maximizing his senses by activating the cells of his entire body resembled Grid’s Freely Move.

Laden escaped from the shockwaves and quickly reached Praba’s nose. Praba instinctively sensed it. He wouldn’t be able to stop the power of this red iron bar. This was why—

“Ohhhhh!” Praba fired a Breath while at the same time, he threw his arms out. The black Breath aimed precisely at Laden’s face while his sharp claws aimed at Laden’s chest. It was just that before all the attacks hit Laden, Laden’s iron rod pierced Praba. The Breath that had flown to just the tip of Laden’s nose disappeared like it was a lie. It was a phenomenon that meant Praba’s death.

“Waaahhhhhhhh!” The people of Frontier cheered as they watched Praba turned to grey ash. The windows of the tightly closed up homes opened and people looked out. All of Frontier was delighted.

“Pant... Pant... Pant...” Alone on the stage, Laden stumbled and collapsed. A shadow was cast over his body as he was unable to move one fingertip. It was Jad’s shadow.

Jad’s cold voice as he spread his wings and flew to the stage caused a stir in Frontier. “This was a pretty fun battle, so I’ll keep my promise. However, you must die.”

Jad saw Laden’s potential. He knew that after a bit more time, this person would surpass the single-digit Red Knights. However, the Chaos Mountains had stronger monsters than Laden. It wasn’t worth keeping Laden alive for the sake of future pleasure. It was necessary to get rid of this talent to dominate Frontier. There was no reason to hesitate when there was the justification of his people being harmed. The tail that was two meters longer than Praba’s slowly descended toward Laden’s neck. The tip of the sharp tail seemed like it could easily harm Laden.

“......”

Laden didn’t resist. He just stared quietly at the tail. Was he accepting death? No. He knew that he would never die after the battle was over.

“Transcended Link Flower.”

It was because Grid was here. The blue sword energies swept toward Jad.

“Linked Kill Flower Pinnacle.”

The presence that all the people of the Overgeared Kingdom admired descended and smashed Jad.

‘...The grandmaster?’

Jad’s eyes were filled with astonishment as he was quickly turned into a rag. He had no idea why a person with skills comparable to the strongest person in the Saharan Empire was on the border of this kingdom.