Chapter 10 (Part 9)

Anthus, Erzen, and Luda approached the wall of the Holy Kingdom.

“Yan! That’s too reckless!”

“I can’t hold back any longer. Erzen, gather the troops here.”

“Yan!”

Anthus swiftly climbed the wall and subdued the Holy Knights guarding it in an instant. Anthus adjusted his sword and glared at the towering papal palace.

“The enemy has invaded!”

Other Holy Knights guarding the wall appeared, raising their swords at Anthus.

“They don’t seem to know that even if bugs gather, they are just bugs to be crushed…”

Anthus’s chilling smile made the Holy Knights feel as if their whole bodies were freezing.

And an unbearable tension filled the air. They could instinctively sense that no plea would ever reach Anthus.

Anthus moved swiftly. He was so fast that the Holy Knights couldn’t see him.

Anthus’s blade slashed the neck of a Holy Knight. The Holy Knight screamed, clutching his neck.

“You shouldn’t scream just from this level of pain.”

Anthus grabbed the Holy Knight’s hair and pulled hard. The Holy Knight screamed more, struggling.

“Being killed with a single stroke is too generous. But there’s no need to waste time torturing noisy bugs. It’s better to kill them because they’re loud.”

Anthus’s sharp blade once again deeply slashed the Holy Knight’s neck. The struggling Holy Knight fell silent.

“It’s quiet now.”

Soldiers and Holy Knights who had gathered to stop Anthus backed away as they watched their comrades fall to his merciless blade.

Even though they tried to muster courage to stop Anthus, they all fell to his sword without even swinging their own properly.

“Being called Holy Knights, yet so weak.”

Anthus clicked his tongue and walked among the corpses.

The Holy Kingdom has priests and Holy Knights who serve the gods, but they are not specialized in combat. They can only exorcise monsters and heal with divine power. If there’s something that requires strength, they hire mercenaries or wizards by paying a lot of money.

Of course, the Holy Kingdom continues to make a lot of money with holy water and artifacts imbued with divine power, and the donations from believers of Agathaine are substantial. But he had learned the truth about the Holy Kingdom.

“M-Monster!”

Anthus, looking at his blood-soaked blade, smiled at the fleeing Holy Knights and soldiers.

“Never retreat! Hold the line!”

“Reinforcements will arrive soon!”

Anthus continued to cut down the fleeing Holy Knights as he walked forward. His fierce murderous aura stretched forward without hesitation. Those who felt his energy strongly trembled and sat down.

“I’m annoyed that I’m wasting time killing them one by one.”

Anthus raised his sword high. His red mana spread widely in the air and began to gather at his sword’s tip. At the same time, the entire wall started to vibrate.

“Evacuate immediately!”

“It’s Anthus Rockbellion of the Sirius Empire! I swear on my family’s name!”

The Holy Knights, sensing Anthus’s unusual energy, began shouting for everyone to get out of the way. Anthus looked at the fleeing knights and shouted.

“From today, the Holy Kingdom no longer exists.”

There was no sympathy in Anthus’s voice. Only cold death could be felt.

His sword, imbued with red mana, struck the ground. Cracks began to form in the wall. And it crumbled as it split.

Under the collapsing wall, Anthus, without a single disturbance, adjusted his grip on his sword and moved forward, slicing the large stones before him like soft bread.

“Stop! Drop your sword immediately and let’s talk. I am Stalys, the commander of the Second Holy Knight Order of the Holy Kingdom!”

At the mention of wanting to talk, Anthus laughed loudly.

“A bug that gets stepped on in the path of a beast wants to talk to the beast?”

At the word ‘bug,’ Stalys drew his sword and infused it with divine power.

“How dare you invade the Holy Kingdom! You will receive divine punishment!”

“I didn’t invade; I came to conquer. From now on, the Holy Kingdom is a vassal state of the Sirius Empire.”

“How dare you! The Holy Kingdom protected by the gods!”

Stalys, tense, stared into Anthus’s red eyes.

Anyone who wields a sword has heard rumors about the Sword Master Anthus. A cold-blooded serpent of death in war, capable of taking a thousand lives with a single swing. That is Anthus Rockbellion.

“Why have you come to the Holy Kingdom? The soldiers and knights you’ve killed are precious talents of the Holy Kingdom and have families!”

“Haha.”

Anthus laughed loudly at Stalys’s words.

“How many people think about the gender, age, or families of bugs when they kill them?”

“We’re not bugs; we’re people!”

“No, I’ve already decided you’re bugs, so you’re bugs. Would anyone feel guilty about killing bugs? Don’t you kill bugs when you see them? It’s the same thing.”

Anthus began to focus his mana on his sword again. Those who had witnessed his destructive power once stepped back in fear.

Stalys gripped his sword tightly and charged at Anthus.

Anthus slashed his sword diagonally in the air. Stalys couldn’t block his red sword energy flying diagonally.

The people froze in place, seeing Stalys, who couldn’t even approach Anthus and had died.

Anthus once again concentrated mana on his sword, raising one corner of his mouth in a sinister smile. He continued to swing his sword at the wall, and the wall continued to crumble.

* * *

“I can’t handle this. We must go to the Duke immediately.”

The shadow couldn’t stop Anthus. He was swinging his sword in the middle of the enemy, collapsing people and walls. Still, just in case Anthus became endangered, they were prepared to step in… But there was no situation to step in. Even the soldiers of the Holy Kingdom weren’t stopping Anthus; they were just screaming and running away.

“He’s slaughtering all the fleeing soldiers and attacking knights.”

“So you’re saying the Duke is rampaging alone in the Holy Kingdom?”

Grogi, the commander of the elite 5th Knight Order of the Rockbellion family, asked the shadow again.

“It would be fortunate if he were just rampaging… Because of the murderous aura and energy he’s emitting, priests are sitting down and praying, saying the Demon King has descended.”

The commanders of the Rockbellion Knight Orders sighed deeply at the shadow’s explanation.

“The Duke is having fun alone…”

“I agree with you.”

“He didn’t even wait for us!”

Grogi and Greta resented Anthus, who was destroying the Holy Kingdom’s wall alone.

“If the Duke steps in, it’s not a war, but close to an invasion…”

“They say it’s a massacre.”

The commanders of the Rockbellion Knight Orders each made a comment.

“Shadow, which direction should we go to have fun? No, I mean, to stop the Duke?”

“We’re not going for fun!”

“I’ll guide you.”

The elite Knight Order of the Rockbellion family consists of ten knight orders. They are those who joined the knight order because they admired the Sword Master Anthus and became commanders of the elite knight order with their skills.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve had a war! I’m excited!”

“We’re not going for fun!”

The knight orders, following the shadow, first saw the crumbled wall.

“The wall is broken?”

“I can feel the Duke’s anger from the collapsed wall.”

“The Duke is having a great time. Lorraine, we can’t just stand by.”

Donnie, the commander of the 2nd Knight Order of Rockbellion, whistled.

“Donnie, does this look like fun to you?”

Lorraine sighed and said.

“Everyone, be quiet. We’re not here to fight, but to clean up the Duke’s unilateral invasion scene.”

The commander of the 1st Knight Order, Huesman, was dazed as he looked at the exterior of the wall Anthus had destroyed as soon as he arrived.

“Oh! Our Duke is truly amazing! It’s thrilling every time I see it.”

Donnie said with an ecstatic expression.

Huesman, next to Donnie, sighed deeply. Anthus had stormed into the Holy Kingdom with just one sword. Even though it’s the Holy Kingdom, there are Holy Knights and priests, and there are soldiers as well. No matter how strong Anthus was, what he did was extremely reckless.

However, the result of such a dangerous action was surprisingly okay. The wall was completely collapsed, making it easy to invade, and perhaps because the initial momentum was subdued, no one dared to attack recklessly. Instead, the soldiers of the Holy Kingdom were raising their hands in surrender or kneeling.

“There’s our Duke! Duke! Donnie is here!”

Donnie raised both hands and jumped. All eyes turned to where Donnie was waving. Anthus stood there, holding a blood-stained sharp sword and exuding a terrifying aura.

“Duke!”

At the sound of his name, Anthus waved his hand lightly at the Rockbellion Knights.

“You all came just in time.”

“Enjoying yourself alone! That’s too much!”

“Donnie, there are still plenty of toys to play with. Can you clean up what’s left?”

“You should have waited until we arrived.”

Huesman placed his hand on his forehead and said.

“I thought I was holding back quite a lot?”

Anthus smirked crookedly and spoke to Huesman.

“Yes, yes. I understand.”

Knowing that he couldn’t win against Anthus, Huesman gave a vague answer and closed his mouth.

“Huesman, take everyone who surrenders as hostages.”

“Understood.”

“Do not harm pregnant women, children, and the elderly.”

“Understood.”

“If you capture the Pope, do not kill him. Bring him to me alive. If there’s any resistance or it seems he might escape, cut off his legs and drag him here.”

“Understood.”

The Rockbellion Knights moved in perfect order under Anthus’s command. First, Donnie ran out and shouted.

“Is there no Holy Knight who wants to fight me?”

At Donnie’s shout, the Holy Knights placed their swords on the ground and raised their hands. It was a sign of surrender. Donnie quickly showed a disappointed expression. Since Anthus had already killed the commanders of the Holy Knights in an instant, their will to fight was broken.

“Duke! There are no toys!”

Donnie shouted to Anthus with a pitiful look. However, Anthus, without responding, closed his eyes and focused on something.

“Alright! Duke! A Rockbellion knight who can’t make a toy himself isn’t worth it, right?”

Donnie picked up a sword and approached a trembling Holy Knight with a bright smile.

“We’re not here for fun! Donnie! Why are you giving a sword to a Holy Knight who wants to surrender! You battle maniac!”

Huesman spoke irritably to Donnie.

“Grogi! Greta! You two do some work too!”

Huesman sighed deeply once again. Lorraine, passing by, patted him on the shoulder. Huesman decided that once this was over, he would take a vacation for a while.

The capital of the Holy Kingdom was quickly surrounded by the knights of the Sirius Empire. Every house hung white cloths, signaling surrender, and those who resisted were mercilessly killed.

Anthus, leading the knights, stood before the Papal Palace.

“I can feel Lia’s presence here.”