42 The Fight Begins (II)

"Wait! You...I have no idea how you've managed to figure out my identity of a non-human given your young age, but I will trust you for now," Kwok Ryong said as he put up his two fingers again to dismiss his black sword, then turned around to back face Seunghyuk as he walked away.

"Well, I guess that will do for that creature, now it's time to get the others working," Seunghyuk told himself as he walked towards the other fifteen people while putting on a scary face of plotting, "They should be much easier to 'convince' I believe..."

Seunghyuk headed towards the corner where the offenders, the ex-royal members and the young cowards are backed up against. The haughtiness and arrogance floating around the offenders and the ex-royal members have disappeared completely and replaced with trembling fear, fitting in with the five cowards perfectly.

"I'm sure you've seen the fight between me and that old creatu...man over there. To be completely honest, the fifteen of you need not do much!" Seunghyuk spoke with a scheming smile on his face, causing all the fifteen people to tremble in greater fear, "Your tasks are literally a no-brainer, because all you need to do is run towards every attack from the Head Royal Guard, that's all!"

Seunghyuk continued smiling at the fifteen jittery slimes in front of him, leaving quietness to settle in before he turned to walk away.

"Wait! We...We can't be your shields-" One of the ex-royal members tried to say something, evidently trying to get themselves out of this obvious trouble but Seunghyuk turned right back, squatting right down then staring into the speaker's eyes threateningly, "Sorry, I wasn't focused. What did you say?"

Seunghyuk's whole body emitted a domineering aura that harboured the sole intention to kill anybody in front of him. The King's Aura of Terror came out naturally with control this time without needing to be activated with strong and intense emotions.

"Everyone have any other questions?" Seunghyuk asked with his voice dropping down to an acid low tone as if to also bring the whole atmosphere around him down to press down on everyone's shoulders.

Everyone's desire to live was strong, hence they all obediently remained silent. Funny how the exploding arrogance from the group was grinded to nothing in just a few minutes.

"Mr Choi, your preparation time is up! Please make your way to your left to exit the battle space and join me and the other royal members in the main hall. Get your team members ready to withstand three of the Head Royal Guard's attacks," The duke's voice rang through the speakers and bounced around in the reverberant battle space, alerting Seunghyuk as he sighed softly while shooting a look at the possible former Legendary Conqueror creature, Kwok Ryong, disguised as a human male which just rolled his eyes while nodding reluctantly.

Seunghyuk followed what he heard Duke Travessle announce and walked to his left, then the seemingly perfect white wall revealed a rectangular separation as the well-camouflaged door slid upwards and open.

"Hyung!" Jisung called out once Seunghyuk stepped one foot in through the door which mildly shocked him, but Jisung's questionably confused face slid into his field of vision as he heard Jisung's flurry of questions, "What was I watching just now? Were you fighting your own team member? Why the one minute and why are you so calm? Can't you see that the King threw a worthless bunch of people to you?"

Seunghyuk raised both his arms upwards vertically then swung it down forcefully to smack Jisung's shoulders hard.

"Why are you so worked up? I just made a deal with the only reliable member in the group, and I won, so he would willingly help me complete the task. As for the others...well, I think they're settled?" Seunghyuk replied and unexpectedly shooting another question back to answer the questions which made Jisung show a pure face of disbelief that screamed, "I have absolutely no faith in you."

Seunghyuk shook his head as he walked with Jisung, who was still looking at Seunghyuk doubtfully, and reached the main hall where the royal members sat silently in their own separate worlds of deep thought as they waited together with the awaiting Duke Travessle for the task to commence.

"Alright, now let us welcome the Head Royal Guard of the King back into the battle space!" Duke Travessle spoke and another door from the other side of the battle space opened, the same shimmering set of armour clanked as the Head Royal Guard walked out dangerously, and when everyone was in position, the Duke announced "Now without further ado, let us commence the second task! Withstand three hits from the Head Royal Guard without falling unconscious! Only one has to remain for the task to be completed!"

Seunghyuk watched from the main hall and could vividly see the fifteen useless members of the group struggling to stand properly straight and just resorted to a jiggly weak stance. The old and experienced creature stood in front of the whole group as he quickly summoned his black sword and prepared for the incoming attacks.

"Well, even if I don't have faith in my own group, I'll only have to rely on that old creature. I mean, it's his only chance at breaking his Demon Seal..." Seunghyuk spoke softly under his breath only audible to himself as he watched the whole scene from the main hall's big screen that showed real-time footage of the happenings in the battle space, "The fun is going to begin. I really want to see the expression of the 'King', Kim Yangwon's face after I complete this seemingly impossible task too."

In the battle space, the fifteen powerless people continued to shake weakly like they would fall if the wind were to blow at them. Kwok Ryong held his ground while holding his black sword tight, anticipating the heaviest attacks from the Head Royal Guard.

"Conqueror's Name: Chae Myeongeun (Female) (Head Royal Guard for the King of Arkawarenia)

Conqueror's Level: 5

Strength: 33

Agility: 32

Defense: 28

MP: 29

Skills: Ember Pillar (2 stars)

Locked On (1 stars)

Triple Swords (2 stars)

Concussion Wipeout (4 stars)"

"Conqueror's Name: Kwok Ryong (Gender: ???)

Conqueror's Level: ???

Strength: 21 (Heavily sealed with Demon seal)

Agility: 20 (Heavily sealed with Demon seal)

Defense: 25 (Heavily sealed with Demon seal)

MP: 26 (Heavily sealed with Demon seal)

Skills: Backward Gravity (1 star)

Slash Of The Stars (1 star)

Space Warper (1 star)"

Seunghyuk knows that even with Kwok Ryong's experience from being a Conqueror for countless decades, the sealed skill level of Kwok Ryong would heavily affect his performance against an opponent like the Head Royal Guard whose stats were about 30 points higher. However apprehensive Seunghyuk was, he could only watch the whole fight with silent solemnity as he hoped for the best.

"I do not know what you have had planned, but it would never work on me," The Head Royal Guard spoke with her same robotic voice that masked her real gender, still, she was standing in a way that exuded maximum confidence and it felt like she was a general at war that had never experienced any failure at all, "Your stubborn futility will come back as a viper to bite you back in the near future. Prepare yourselves for my first attack."

Seunghyuk watched carefully and concentrated, Jisung just stood beside Seunghyuk while watching with a whole different expression of worry. Seunghyuk could not help but recall that he was beaten half to death by the Head Royal Guard even when she was not using any of her skills.

"This time she's not going to hold back, is she? The King certainly is merciless," Seunghyuk spoke softly as he shook his head lightly, only Jisung barely caught what was said but chose not to press on any further since the Head Royal Guard started to raise her longsword.

"Concussion Wipeout!" The Head Royal Guard yelled out and let the rain-guard together with the hilt lie flat on her armoured palms to spin the whole sword around once, then grabbing it with so much force that the instant she caught hold of the longsword, she swung it horizontally forward, sending a visible sword energy arc sweeping forward.

"Ahhhhh!" Screams and shouts were sounded in the battle space and in an instant, all the fifteen worthless members of the group fell unconscious, but the possible former Legendary Conqueror lived up to his supposed name, holding his ground by blocking the attack by using his skill Slash Of The Stars to counter it.

"You are not a weak opponent like the others that have fallen, but to foolishly think you could take on two of my attacks without falling is laughable," The Head Royal Guard stated, then without even giving Kwok Trying the time to think about what was said, she dashed forward and stabbed her longsword to the ground, "You will soon come to realise the stupidity in your soon-to-be destroyed stubbornness! Ember pillars! Onstellan meol hâligdôm speldm¯æst wlite of sacred trûwung ðætte oferswîðrian sum inde sê canne!"

Seunghyuk would have had absolutely no idea what she was chanting if he had not had the skill Ancient Language Comprehension. It was old English, Anglo-Saxon, that the Head Royal Guard chanted to bring her skill of Ember Pillar to the extreme.

"Rise o' holy flames in the form of godly pillars that destroys everything it can. That was what I picked up at least," Seunghyuk translated it out loud as he watched nervously with his forehead scrunched up mildly as the Head Royal Guard finishes her skill casting.

"Rise!" The Head Royal Guard let out an air-piercing shout with her artificially filtered voice, causing five obsidian pillars to rise up from the ground and started building up burning, hot flames as every second past.

"The fight ends now," The Head Royal Guard pulled out her longsword from the ground as the five pillars shot their dangerous beams of fire towards Kwok Ryong in five different bearings of directions, making blocking or countering nearly impossible.

"Space Warper," Kwok Ryong mouthed out and a pocket of air split, cracked and forcefully opened up right in front of him, sucking in the dangerous flaming attacks from the Head Royal Guard as the hole swallowed everything then closed.

"What...This is impossible! You cannot be this powerful!" The Head Royal Guard's calmness was broken into shards within minutes with her holding up her sword and thinking about whatever to do with her final and last attack, but the hole reopened suddenly in front of her without warning with her own flames covered with another layer of dark, purple flames shooting out towards her.

Just like how a hunter would be unable to react to a pack of wolves leaping towards him famishly, the purple beams of fire hit the Head Royal Guard rapidly like a machine gun was firing continuously, driving her backwards as she swung her sword diagonally upwards with great effort to deflect the last fire beam before the hole closed.

"Why do you talk so much, may I ask?" Kwok Ryong smiled devilishly as he purposefully taunted the currently flustered and hurt Head Royal Guard, layers of the armour are seen to be melted off, but she still held her longsword in front of her face shouting furiously, "Your sorceries will not work when faced with real strength!"

Just as the Head Royal Guard was about to charge in, the King's voice rang through the speaker, "Initiate Plan B."

Seunghyuk whipped his head shockingly backwards to see the King holding the voice transmitting device in his hands while his furious brows slowly eased and brought forward a dangerous smirk.

"Damn it! He's plotting something again!" Seunghyuk whispered angrily while he gritted his teeth so hard until he felt his teeth go numb, clenched his fist so tightly that his knuckles were going white, his eyes stared at the real-time footage with so much anger that his skill Aura of Terror almost activated, but Jisung's voice knocked him out of it.

"Hyung, are you okay? What's the King planning again?" Jisung asked with a strong worrying tone but Seunghyuk just bit his lower lip as he shook his head slowly and gravely, watching the Head Royal Guard sheathe her longsword but magically pull out another longsword from midair.

"My king! That longsword's aura! You have given your Head Royal Guard a Conqueror Magic Enhancement weapon! That...That is not a very good place to use weapons of such caliber..." The Duke suddenly spoke in deep shock but the King just raised a hand up to silent the Duke, which he had to obediently follow though his heart was filled with reluctance.

"I never said the Head Royal Guard was not allowed to use a Conqueror Magic Enhancement weapon, so how is this breaking the rules?" The King spoke back to the Duke which had the whole room silent, even if there were contradicting points, no one dared to make a sound in the face of the King.

"Now that I have had my hands on the legendary longsword, Durandal, you can start to breathe your last few breaths!" The Head Royal Guard raised the longsword as she dashed forward preparing to swing her legendary longsword down towards the old and experienced creature, Kwok Ryong, that immediately recognised the Conqueror Magic Enhancement weapon.

"Now that you've realised you're incapable, you're breaking the rules, then?" Kwok Ryong said while preparing to swing his sword to counter the Head Royal Guard's threatening attack, but deep down, his beating heart palpitated quicker than ever before, not in excitement, but in fear.