Chapter 147

Chapter 148. The Tip of the Iceberg (3)

According to the rules of the first round Battle Royale, you can wear the armor you have on. That is, unless it’s a level 2 or higher magical tool or artifact.

All the knights participating in the competition came wearing the best armor they could prepare. The poor wore steel armor with leather padding, while the wealthy wore Amantiir or Orichalcon armor, or even level 1 magical armor.

But what about Keter?

He came wearing a fluttering cloth robe that swayed with the wind. Other than that, he had nothing else equipped. He was bare-handed.

In fact, he even had his bare hands stuffed in his pockets, strolling around casually. To an outsider, he might look like someone out for a walk.

Swish!

From the bushes on either side of Keter, four knights leaped out simultaneously. These were 2-Star Knights, who seemed like superhumans to ordinary people.

But the moment Keter pulled his hands out of his pockets—

“……?!”

The knights who had pounced on Keter couldn’t believe it.

Four swords were caught simultaneously.

By Keter’s single hand.

The swords were imbued with aura capable of cutting through steel, and they attacked from all directions in a way that made blocking or dodging nearly impossible. How could four aura-infused swords be stopped by a single hand?

“This is impossible…….”

Thud, thud, thud!

The face of the knight who had spoken caved in like a fist had struck it, then returned to normal. The other knights experienced the same phenomenon, with only a slight time difference.

Crash! Thud!

The knights who had leaped out of the bushes were sent flying back into the bushes faster than they had emerged.

Keter opened his right hand, which had been clenched into a fist.

In his palm were four badges.

Before punching their faces, he had first snatched the badges from their chests.

Whoosh!

Keter tossed the badges far away, in the direction of the sea. Then he started walking again, as if nothing had happened.

Where on earth was Keter going?

Did he even have a destination?

“He’s heading toward the center of the island.”

A man who was tailing Keter muttered to himself.

His name was Pasian.

Having received orders from Marquis Galahind to cripple Keter, he was being cautious.

If a 2-Star Knight seemed like a superhuman among ordinary people, then a 5-Star Master would feel like a superhuman even to those 2-Star Knights.

In that sense, Pasian, a 5-Star Master, had every reason to be confident. He could afford to look down on his opponent. Even though he was at a level where such arrogance was permissible—Pasian had no qualms about hiding and observing Keter. His pride wasn’t hurt.

Because his mercenary instincts were telling him: Keter was no easy opponent.

‘His superficial identity is all a disguise. A Diamond-Class mercenary, Sephira’s illegitimate child—none of it’s true. He’s definitely not at the 3-Star level. He’s… a Master-level expert like me.’

Pasian deduced that Keter was a ‘martial artist’ after seeing him fight bare-handed.

‘It’s a martial art I’ve never seen before. Given its formless and free nature, it seems like he learned it in the Adeus Kingdom.’

Swordsmen usually look down on martial arts other than swordsmanship. To them, the sword is the pinnacle of martial arts and the truth of the world.

Pasian’s thoughts were similar. Swordsmanship was the pinnacle of martial arts. But having worked in the Adeus Kingdom, Pasian didn’t underestimate martial arts.

“I want to observe a bit more for now.”

Pasian wasn’t in a hurry. There was plenty of time, and besides him, there were countless knights targeting Keter.

Having decided to thoroughly analyze Keter before dealing with him, Pasian continued his surveillance.

* * *

14.

That was the number of knights Keter had defeated by the time he reached the escape point at the center of the island.

Yet, Keter didn’t have a single badge in his hand. Still, he had come to the escape point.

The mage managing the escape point shrank back as he saw Keter approaching.

He had received a request—almost like an order—from Galahind. If Keter tried to escape, he was to delay him as much as possible.

It didn’t seem like a dangerous request. He thought it was nothing. But facing Keter now……

‘You, you’re too scary!’

After just one glance into Keter’s eyes, the mage nearly wet himself. Keter’s calm, unangered face only made the mage feel a primal fear.

“Eek!”

As Keter approached, the mage completely collapsed to the ground.

But Keter walked past him without a care.

“Huh?”

The collapsed mage looked back. Keter had already passed the escape point.

‘What, what’s going on? Why is he standing in front of the cliff? Oh, is he here to find the Elixir at the mountain peak?’

At the center of the island was a mountain. Slightly larger than a hill, the mountain’s peak had a plateau.

However, the path to the plateau was quite steep and treacherous. The direction Keter was heading in was a near-vertical cliff.

Then, the mage witnessed an unbelievable sight.

Keter was climbing the cliff.

And he was walking.

“Huh, huh?”

Fidgeting.

The mage doubted his eyes. But no matter how much he looked, Keter was clearly climbing the cliff with his feet planted on it.

As if he were walking on flat ground, effortlessly and steadily.

“…Magic? No, I’ve never heard of such magic. Besides, a knight shouldn’t be able to use magic, right?!”

No matter what the mage babbled below, Keter walked up the cliff and reached the mountain peak in the shortest distance possible.

The deserted island was clearly visible below, and beyond it stretched an endless horizon.

At the edge of the forest, at the mountain’s entrance, knights were lined up in a long formation, surrounding the area. All of them had been tracking Keter. There were over 40 of them. More than half of Group B was targeting Keter.

Ignoring the murderous aura emanating from all directions, Keter shouted with a booming voice.

“Before we start, I’ll say one thing.”

Keter’s voice echoed loudly across the entire deserted island. Not only all the knights participating in the competition but also the audience was forced to listen to Keter’s words.

“Oh, please! Keter!”

Mail, who was watching the competition, clutched his face. Mail was terrified because he couldn’t even imagine what Keter was about to say.

* * *

All the participants on the deserted island and the audience watching from outside on screens were focused on one person.

Keter.

He had something to say to everyone, and he drew all their attention. Tens of thousands of spectators, hundreds of nobles and knights were watching and listening.

Mail gnawed on his thumbnail. It was a habit of his when he was anxious.

“Even though he’s participating as an independent, everyone knows Keter is affiliated with Sephira now. Whatever he says in this situation will be taken as Sephira’s will.”

If he made even a single slip of the tongue, people would start badmouthing Sephira.

“It would be better if he just smashed everything. Please, just keep your mouth shut…….”

But it was already too late for that. No one could stop Keter now.

Mail just hoped Keter would make some meaningless joke.

Meanwhile, Keter, annoyingly, had captured everyone’s attention and then didn’t immediately follow up. He paused for a very long time.

‘Why is he taking so long?’

Just as the patience of the knights surrounding Keter and the audience reached its limit—precisely when the tension and focus were at their peak—Keter, with a sly smile, spoke.

“Archery is stronger than swordsmanship.”

“…….”

“…….”

With that one sentence, the world itself seemed to freeze for a moment.

The knights surrounding Keter, exuding murderous intent—the audience who had been eagerly awaiting Keter’s words—the nobles ready to pounce on Keter’s statement—even the knights from other regions who had come to see the level of the southern knights.

All of them stared at Keter on the screen with blank expressions.

“If you want to refute me, try defeating Sephira’s archery with your so-called superior swordsmanship.”

It was a provocation. Blatant and primal.

But it was incredibly effective. The knights who had been observing the situation started charging at Keter without a second thought.

Snap!

Keter flicked his hand. In his grasp was an aura-formed bow, the ‘Aura Bow.’

It was vivid and clear. The craftsmanship was so perfect that if it weren’t for the blue hue, no one would have believed it was made of aura.

Zzzzzz.

An Aura Arrow was nocked on the bowstring. The charging knights tensed, preparing to block or dodge the arrow.

But Keter’s arrow wasn’t aimed at the knights.

It was aimed at the sky.

Keter shot the arrow above his own head.

The knights were puzzled. Why would he shoot an arrow into the sky? And why did it seem to grow larger as it ascended?

“Are my eyes playing tricks on me, or is the arrow getting bigger?”

“It’s true. I see it too.”

The arrow Keter shot soared into the sky, gradually growing in size until it eventually lost its arrow-like shape.

Transforming into a spherical form, the arrow continued to rise into the sky, rapidly increasing in volume.

“…Oh, Lilian.”

The knights, who had been furious at Keter’s statement, now stared at the sky in a daze. The audience watching also forgot to blink, fixated on the screen.

A sun.

In the sky, another sun had appeared.

A small sun made of blue aura asserted its presence.

Though not as hot as the real sun, the knights felt their entire bodies tremble at its presence.

Keter’s archery, the 4th form of the Celestial Infinity Technique.

‘Heaven Explosion Fire Rain.’

The mass of aura shot into the sky reached its limit and exploded. The fragments of the sun all took the form of arrows.

Soon, a majestic rain of light arrows began bombarding the ground.

All of this happened in just 10 seconds.

Whoosh! Boom! Crash!

The arrows of Heaven Explosion Fire Rain had explosive properties. They exploded the moment they made contact.

The explosive power itself wasn’t overwhelming, but the fact that they rained down over a wide enough area to devastate the visible region was what mattered.

Keter spread his arms, nodding his head in rhythm with the explosions.

The world shook as if it were about to collapse. In terms of the sheer scale of the bombardment and the deafening explosions, it seemed like the deserted island might be completely destroyed, but in reality, it wasn’t.

Heaven Explosion Fire Rain was a technique focused more on explosive power than lethality, and the aura poured into it was only 50 years old, so compared to the original, its power was embarrassingly weak.

Of course, even at that embarrassingly weak level, it was more than enough for Keter to achieve his desired goal.

“Let’s get rid of the small fry and play among the real contenders.”