75 Chapter 75_ Behen Archipelago (2)
Recognizing a fellow Sword Saint, he halted his movements. However there was also a slender man that appeared. The name above his head was clearly Asmophel.
"Who are you to intrude the territory of my savior!?"
While looking at the serious expression of Asmophel, a long sword rose above his head before descending.
[You have suffered 1,000 damage.]
Lexus didn't bother to dodge at all. his defense alone can absorb millions of damages as long as he's not facing a legend or someone who achieved transcendence like Sword Saint Biban, he was confident that he will not suffer any damage.
Suddenly, Asmophel had a face that seemed like he would faint at any moment. In an instant, his face turned white and one could see that the hand holding the sword hilt was shaking. Just like a frog before a snake.
"Is this… 'Fear'?"
Asmophel mumbles. Dragons had a kind of 'Fear' ability that caused extreme fear and panic in weaker targets. Lexus who has the heart of a top dragon, was one of them. No matter how strong he was, there was no choice but to be greatly influenced by the 'Fear' of the opponent with a much higher level. An overwhelming pressure that left one speechless.
It was absurd that he didn't even feel his own presence, even though Lexus was right next to him. Asmophel knew for the first time at this moment that such a being existed in the world. He also instinctively felt that even if he fought him with all his might, he could never win. No, he couldn't even fight right now.
'I can't move my body…'
His breath stopped just by facing Lexus. It's hard to even lift a finger. He gnashed his teeth and tried hard to resist 'Fear'. He did everything in his power to straighten out the fighting spirit that was about to be broken.
But he still couldn't pull out his sword. The fear that engulfed him from the depths of his heart couldn't be shaken off, no matter what. All he could do was feel hopeless and helpless and desperately raised sword energy and aura to free himself from the bondage
'Asmophel is already here.'
Looking at Asmophel, Lexus revealed a grin. It had only been a year since he began his journey. If according to the novel, he should be able to meet Asmophel in five years without him intervening with Greed's business but now, he was already facing the said man.
"This makes things more interesting!"
The story is already changing.
As Asmophel was succumbing to his extreme fear, a voice was heard.
"Stop it, you two! Cease you hostility towards his majesty."
Turning their head towards the source of the voice, it was Greed. What made it quite amusing for Lexus is his panicked expression. It was because his two best subordinates have attacked his superior for mistaking him for an intruder.
"Please forgive me your majesty. Because I was lacking, this has happened."
Hearing his voice while lowering his head, Lexus dispersed the output of the Dragon Fear he was excluding.
[Resident Royman is in a state of fear. All stats are reduced by 80%.]
[Resident...]
[...]
Although he was far from the public, the aura of the dragon made a commotion towards the civilians of Reidan. Some were unable to handle the pressure and collapsed while foaming in their mouth.
"Well it's fine. It's me who's responsible for not telling you."
Lexus simply waved his hand, telling Greed that it's not a big deal at all. Hearing Greed, Piaro and Asmophel understood what they had to do. They lowered their weapon but they didn't say anything. For them, Duke Greed was their lord and not the king, which Lexus understands. Although what happened wasn't really a big deal for Lexus, his presence alone made them uneasy.
[You have become lost in front of an immeasurable existence. Your head involuntarily bows. Your body is shaky and head begins to move.]
[Resistance failed.]
[You have been enchanted...]
[Resistance failed.]
His presence alone even made the legends unable to resist his dignified demeanor. It was the effect of charm and dignity stat that is enhanced to three times by the Undefeated King's Crown.
"Pardon my sudden visit."
The three then snap of their daze as Lexus imbued his mana to his voice to clear their mind. Looking at Lexus who was smiling, Asmophel inwardly thinks with lingering fear.
'He's so tough like an immovable mountain.'
Complaints Asmophel as he remembered that his sword felt like a toothpick when he attacked him. The reason why a dragon couldn't be raided even with a large number of transcendents gathered was because the dragon's absolute defense and scales couldn't be penetrated.
The fight itself couldn't be established because they couldn't inflict damage. Naturally, Lexus' Absolute Defense wasn't activated as he didn't have to. His base defense alone is more than enough.
"It's been a while since we saw each other. How have you been?"
Lexus greeted Greed. Although he was equipping the Undefeated King's Helmet, he could choose the 'exposed appearance' to be either a helmet or a crown. As he wasn't in combat, he chose the appearance of the Undefeated King's Crown to be visible.
"Well I've been doing things that were annoying in many ways like the plans to deal with the population crisis of Reidan."
Lexus knows where he's coming. Reidan, the second largest city in the kingdom but it was far less than Winston. The size was more than twice the sum of the other cities in kingdom, but the overall facilities were less. The problem was that the population was small from the beginning so the speed of development was slow because there was no sufficient manpower.
[Status]
「 Name: Greed
Level: 295
Class: Pagma's Successor
Titles: One who Became a Legend...
Health: 98,000/98,000
Mana: 14,000/14,000
Strength: 4,300 Stamina: 3,500
Agility: 2,700 Intelligence: 2,150
Dexterity: 3,507
—–—–—–—
Persistence: 2,100
Composure: 1,800 Indomitable: 2,400
Dignity: 2,250 Insight: 1,950
Courage: 1,700
—–—–—–—
Demonic Magic Power: 500
Stat Points: 0 」
Looking at the status window of Duke Greed, Lexus was inwardly surprised. He had really improved. Stronger than what he was in the novel during at this stage. It must be the benefit of the additional bonus of Bloody Berserker which increases his attack damage and speed in proportion to the health lost and the Undefeated King title effect which let his direct subordinate to double all damage when using a sword type weapon.
Not to mention that the success rate has also increased when blacksmithing which allows Greed to farm his stats which gave him a bit of a breather of his incredibly bad luck.
"Right, managing a territory is really annoying. They didn't know how it feel saying that they're so envious of my position as the king."
Lexus replied to Greed but he grumbles a bit.
"People can't be envious or jealous of your majesty. You're so strong that they can't even be jealous. In my opinion, the Eternal Kingdom should become like your majesty. It was only by becoming overwhelmingly strong that people won't dare become hostile and the Eternal Kingdom will be safe."
He should be aware that Lexus had the transcendent power that could end a person's life easily. That's the position of a king with unbreakable status. He looked at Duke Greed. He knew that he wasn't the type to say those words. It didn't take long for something to enter in his mind.
'Lauel is probably telling him what to say through the messages.'
It doesn't matter either way. He then turns his attention towards Piaro and Asmophel. His initial intentions of visiting this place is to check how the Overgeared Guild is doing but seeing that Asmophel is already here, it changes his plans.
Suddenly, his eyes changed as he activated the Dragon's Eye. An ability that allows him to see through anything.
'Based on the essence of the world around, it hasn't been an hour since Asmophel arrived in Reidan. Meaning... Piaro has just discovered Asmophel's backstory of being used as a puppet...'
Endless flow of information flooded straight to his mind. If Lexus has low intelligence stats, he might already collapse, unable to handle the influx of information that his Dragon's Eye was collecting. He know why Piaro had a great desire for revenge to the empire. It was because his family members and colleagues who died because he was falsely accused.
But on the contrary, he has become stronger. It was because of Piaro becoming a sword saint and a legendary farmer. After being reborn as a legend, he has already surpassed his previous self when he was still a great swordsman.
'Maybe I can make them feel indebted to me.'
Lexus thought. He knows the whole story of what truly happened to the past of Piaro and Asmophel.
"Hmmm... Being framed by the Empire and being manipulated using a Yatan Servant."
When those words left his mouth, Piaro and Asmophel froze. Greed was also taken aback as he didn't expected that Lexus would know as well.
"How do you..."
Piaro was the first to react and the corners of Lexus' mouth curved upward.
"You might not know this but the eyes of the dragon allows me to see through everything. Whether it was the past or the present. Well I can peek a little of the future too but it's not guaranteed."
Lexus stated while pointing towards his Dragon's Eye. He could pierce through all lies to see the truths. Nothing could deceive his eyes. He possessed an ability that would even allow him to find all the hidden Dungeons, and it wouldn't be difficult for him to acquire the hidden treasures within the Dungeons across the continent!
"It's up to you whether you believe me or not. The truth you heard from Asmophel wasn't the entire thing either."
This time, it was Asmophel who was shook. He who blamed himself for being responsible of taking everything from Piaro didn't know the entire truth?
"You and the fates of the squad of Red Knights are played by a Great Demon."
"....!!!!....What? A great demon is responsible for all of those?!"
Piaro's eyes filled with deep emotions. He had already heard the story from his noble friend, Asmophel. A great man and friend until the day of betrayal. Lexus paused for a moment and didn't say anything. It was because both Piaro and Asmophel were currently mentally unstable. Why did they lose everything?
"Well I guess you couldn't resent Asmophel after finding out that he was used in Empress Marie's wicked schemes."
Empress Marie of the Saharan Empire. The woman who took away the happiness of countless people due to her greed. Piaro's murderous expression grew and he slammed his fist into the ground and tears flowed down from Piaro's eyes. Looking at Lexus, he wanted to know the whole truth aside from hearing Asmophel's story.
"It's a great demon who has already lost his body to Muller."
This time it was Greed who's shocked. His words reminded him of Hell Gao that he discovered in the dungeon within Cork Island.
"Forget rushing to the empire. You guys can't win."
Lexus said straight to Piaro. Despite being weakened and sealed by Sword Saint Muller, a great demon was still a great demon. Even Piaro had become a sword saint, he currently had no chance in a head on confrontation.
" Kugh! Fine."
Piaro forcibly calmed down his rage. He knew from the legends that was passed down from generations to generation that a great demon is a symbol of calamity. A creature that can wipe out all humanity in the surface when they were summoned from Hell.
"Now that you calmed down. Do you want to hear more?"
Lexus said while taking a seat. Inwardly, he was also curious what change in the trajectory of fate will happen after revealing the whole truth to Piaro and Asmophel.
