Read Novel Full Chapter 598- [Ascendant Strike]
Chapter 598: Chapter 598- [Ascendant Strike]
"Even when remaining unused, a Supreme Divine Treasure is not just an ancient artifact, it is authority. A symbol of the continued strength and endurance of the kingdom itself"...
"It determines the weight and say of that kingdom in the summit. I reckon that Solaris has already lost its own divine treasure to the demons."
Saying that, Giacomo’s lips curled into a bloody smile.
"But... If you follow the coordinates I give you... then Solaris will gain another. Since you gave me the duel I wanted and fulfilled my wish of dying as a knight until the end, consider this as my gift"...
"Not a bad deal... don’t ya think?"
For the first time since coming here, Reinhardt’s expression faltered.
He had accepted Sir Giacomo’s duel partly on a whim and partly because he wanted to know what went down in the Kingdom of Lunaris.
Who would think that him whimsically accepting the duel from Sir Giacomo would benefit him immensely like this in the end?
Although he planned to get Solaris’s own Supreme Divine Treasure back from the clutches of the demons, till then, the Supreme Divine Treasure from Lunaris would aid Solaris immensely.
More importantly, with a Supreme Divine Treasure, the Queen’s words would hold more weight in the coming summit.
Giacomo recited the coordinates of the treasure slowly and carefully.
The man had done a great job hiding the treasure; Reinhardt was quite amazed.
If not for the information from Giacomo, then he was afraid that finding it would have been impossible.
Reinhardt memorized everything without missing a word.
He planned to get the treasure on their way.
"I told you all this... because I want to ask you for one last favor."
So that was Giacomo’s true intention.
Reinhardt did not agree immediately.
"Let me hear it first."
The knight continued with his request.
"When this is over... I want you to keep one thing a secret. The part where the king commanded me... to implant the demon heart"...
"Tell the world it was all me. I was the one who was enticed by the demon and let them in. Let me be the fool who dragged his kingdom down."
Silence, long and heavy, enveloped the place.
Reinhardt stood there, looking straight at Giacomo.
Loyal to a fool... this was the thought he had after listening to his request.
A man who had been betrayed by his king.
Used by demons.
Forced to slaughter everything he swore to protect.
And yet... even now, he refuses to let the name of his kingdom or king get tarnished.
In the face of that foolhardy request, Reinhardt sighed and closed his eyes.
"I’ll think about it."
He did not give a definite answer.
The matter that occurred in Lunaris was too big to cover up.
Sooner or later, people would find out what happened here.
What’s more, for his plan to work, to make the Seven Kingdoms, six now, and raise an alliance army to set out in an expedition towards the deepest parts of the Tainted Lands, he must use this chance to show the world how fearsome the demons are.
Simply staying holed up inside our boundaries won’t keep us safe.
Of course, in honor of the hero, Reinhardt was willing to omit some of the parts.
Seeing Reinhardt’s willingness, Giacomo’s shoulders relaxed slightly.
As if a final weight had been lifted from him.
He was just about to express his gratitude when suddenly the ground trembled.
Then... KIEEEEEEE... It lurched.
The entire city turned upside down as if an intense earthquake had hit the place.
The fleshy walls surrounding the city convulsed violently, and buildings were dragged inside.
The entire city was moving.
At the same time, a low guttural roar echoed from the depths.
The sudden movement brought Reinhardt out of his thoughts.
"Looks like it’s beginning."
Giacomo glanced at the surroundings before turning his eyes towards Reinhardt.
"You understand what this means... don’t you? The Nest... It’s no longer stationary. If it’s allowed to grow further, then not only Lunaris, but the surroundings would be consumed too. You need to stop this thing before it starts marching."
Of course, even without him saying anything, Reinhardt understood the threat the nest represented very well.
"You don’t need to worry about that. You’ve done enough. There are other knights outside. They won’t let this thing leave."
"I see..."
Relief brushed over Giacomo briefly.
"In that case, let us close what we started."
Saying that, the broken knight picked up his sword with his left hand.
Even after missing his dominant hand, even while bleeding profusely and his life force seeping away with every passing moment, the instant the Hero picked up the sword, the atmosphere around him changed.
If one wasn’t aware, they would think that the knight was completely fine and that the battle was just starting.
Even at the verge of dying and with an arm missing, Sir Giacomo was a force to be reckoned with.
"For this last attack, I’ll put everything I have into it. So... be careful, Sir Reinhardt."
As he tightened the grip on his sword, a faint blood-stained grin appeared on his face.
"Very well, I’ll take you on."
Reinhardt did not speak any nonsense either and picked up his sword.
The moment the swords of the two heroes pointed at each other, the air changed.
Everything stilled for a single heartbeat. Even the writhing Nest seemed to have calmed down as if it had instinctively sensed danger.
Unbothered, the two heroes looked at each other.
A conclusion to their fight needed to be reached.
This was going to be their final exchange.
No testing, no restraint, and no holding back.
Use your full power to strike down the enemy.
Giacomo was the first one to move.
No, it would be appropriate to say that he vanished from his spot.
The ground beneath him shattered as his body surged forward, leaving behind a vacuum that collapsed with a thunderous crack.
His sword drew a line through the air.
A perfect arc.
Silent, utterly still, yet it gave others spine-chilling danger.
Everything the blade touched ceased to exist.
This was Giacomo’s ultimate technique.
A culmination of his life as a knight.
[Absolute Stillness – Final Horizon].
As the blade came down, there was no roar or explosion of power.
Only a terrifying, creeping silence that erased everything in its path.
Even the writhing flesh of the Abyss recoiled as if it feared that stillness more than destruction itself.
On the contrary, Reinhardt did not burst out with breakneck speed or power.
He stood in his spot and without rushing or straining himself, he brandished his sword.
His golden eyes glowed with the brilliance of the sun, and for the first time in a long while, he displayed a new power.
A skill that he had never shown to the world before.
Right now was the opportune time.
Reinhardt raised his sword, and light gathered around the edges of his sword.
These small clusters of light appeared like smoke.
They were not radiant, but overwhelming to the extreme.
It was as if they represented the very concept of ascension.
A power that surpassed the limits of mortal, a transcendent strike that was impossible to dodge.
"[Ascendant Strike]."
Reinhardt slowly muttered and brandished his blade.
Ascendant Strike- Effect: The Paladin charges their weapon with divine energy, delivering a blow that ignores physical and magical defenses.
The strike creates a shockwave that purges corruption and leaves a glowing scar on the battlefield, temporarily suppressing dark powers in the area.
The moment he swung, the world broke.
The two attacks met.
Stillness Vs Ascension.
For a fraction of a second, it seemed like the two attacks were equal.
A perfect stalemate between two beings who had reached the pinnacle of humanity.
Then everything buckled under the power of the [Ascendant Strike].
Giacomo’s attack shattered along with his blade and very self.
In the blink of an eye, his body disappeared as if he had never existed in this world in the first place.
The ground where he stood and everything around it for dozens of meters was swallowed into that white incandescent swirl.
The [Ascendant Strike] did not stop even after swallowing Giacomo.
It surged forward like a pillar of transcendent force that tore through everything in its path.
The ruined palace... gone.
The streets of the capital... erased.
The countless demons flooding the city... Vaporized before they could even scream.
And then finally came the turn of the Abyss Nest itself.
KIIEEEKKKKK...
The Nest screamed.
It was a horrifying, world-shaking shriek that echoed across the city.
Just from this single shout, one could tell that the nest was not just in pain, it was dying.
Under the power of that incandescent smoke, layers of its flesh were peeled away, buildings and ruins obliterated until there was nothing remaining.
The attack from Reinhardt did not simply damage; it overwhelmed everything.
A force so absolute that even something designed to endlessly grow and regenerate like the Abyss Nest could not endure it.