Emperor! Can You See Stats!?

Chapter 114: One-on-one

As the fight between Grand Duke and Eurius reached its climax, the situation of the battle was also gradually settled.

Clang!

Jegal Unhyeon’s spear shredded the last remaining knight of the abyss. 

It was a powerful blow that could not be healed by regeneration.

‘I have to go to my lord. They were really annoying.’

They had not only high regeneration, but also clung to him so persistently that it was hard to find a chance to get away.

He didn’t even have time to celebrate his victory, as he tried to fly to the center of the battle. 

But at that moment, he tilted his head.

“Huh?”

Contrary to his expectation, Eurius was not in a situation where his neck would fall off at any moment.

Of course, Eurius, who was covered in blood, was being pushed back, but it was not as one-sided as before.

‘Maybe I can still trust my lord.’

For now, he decided to watch for a while, ready to jump in at any time. 

In the worst case scenario, he could save Eurius’s life if he intervened.

‘Fighting against a superior warrior is a good opportunity to break new ground! My lord seems to lack enlightenment compared to his potential. Maybe he can gain some insight this time.’

He made a very oriental warrior-like judgment. 

He thought it would be rude to interfere in this golden opportunity(?).

But Eurius, who was barely holding on, was really miserable.

‘No, if they’re done, they should hurry up and run over. Why are they just staring at me!’

[Remaining duration of Overheat: 30 seconds]

He was burning inside, but Grand Duke seemed to have different thoughts.

Swish!

He briefly made a surprised expression and backed away. 

He was also injured all over his body from forcing his collapsing body to move.

Grand Duke opened his mouth with a serious expression.

“First Prince… Did you really think you could fight me one-on-one and win?”

He had almost given up on escaping and was only thinking of somehow catching Eurius. 

But if another superhuman joined in, he wouldn’t be able to handle it.

But unexpectedly, the one who looked like Eurius’s subordinate was only watching silently and not helping.

‘There’s no way!’

Eurius frowned inwardly. 

He didn’t know what Jegal Unhyeon’s intention was, but would he really leave him to die?

“Think whatever you want.”

“…”

At that curt answer, Grand Duke fell silent for a moment and then raised his sword again.

“I won’t ask you how you knew about the player or how you found out. It’s not important anymore.”

“…!?”

Eurius widened his eyes, not understanding Grand Duke’s intention at all. 

He looked like he had something heavy on his mind, but he couldn’t understand what he was talking about.

“Then I’ll face you with this swordsmanship, even if it’s incomplete. Get ready.”

Swoosh.

Grand Duke held his sword with both hands and took a stance. 

Just by doing that, a different aura than before flowed out of him.

If he felt an explosive power from him before, now his eyes and aura were calm and serene.

Eurius broke out in a cold sweat inside.

‘This is really dangerous.’

His sense as a warrior warned him. 

He didn’t know why Grand Duke was doing this, but Grand Duke still had a trick up his sleeve.

‘How far are Nuada and the Imperial Guard?’

He glanced at the south for a moment and almost made an incredulous expression.

The fight there had stopped altogether. 

Gladius had lost more than half of its members, but their attention was all focused on the center of the battle.

The emperor and Nuada also stopped fighting and looked at him with expectant eyes.

‘Eurius has some trick up his sleeve against that guy. He’s fighting against Grand Duke at that age. He’s really something.’

In fact, when Eurius flew back earlier, the Imperial Guard tried to rush over even if it was risky, but the emperor stopped them. He remembered Eurius’s words from before very well.

“I have enough power to hold off Grand Duke with my own strength.”

Because of that remark, the emperor misunderstood him a little. 

And weren’t the superhumans who had finished their battles not rushing over either?

But Nuada didn’t rush over because he was swept away by the atmosphere.

‘My friend asked me for salvation, but looking at the situation now, it’s not an intervention duel. After all, it’s a one-on-one match between warlords. There’s no need to do such a lame thing.’

The servants who were watching the situation from outside the battle, especially the nobles, were shocked.

“The First Prince was hiding his skills. He established a war college while hiding his skills. He’s really scary.”

“But can he defeat Grand Duke? He’s not an ordinary person…”

“…”

Eurius was speechless with frustration. 

Grand Duke was creating a needless atmosphere and everyone misunderstood him.

‘I’d rather be in a desperate situation like before, then they would have come quickly. This backfired.’

[The duration of Overheat is over. If you don’t release it, you may damage the core.]

‘Keep it for now.’

Eurius had no choice but to take a stance as well.

“You seem to be ready too.”

Grand Duke still maintained a calm expression and uttered a short word.

It looked like a solemn scene where two superhumans were preparing for the final showdown with serious expressions, but Eurius was very tense.

‘He’s not kidding. If I’m not careful, my neck might fly off before anyone intervenes.’

‘Even if I can’t escape after this duel, killing the First Prince here will fulfill part of my wish.’

Was it a case of different dreams in the same bed? They had completely different thoughts as Grand Duke’s sword moved first.

Swoosh!

It was different from his previous powerful aura. Eurius hastily stepped back as he saw the smooth sword.

Clank!

“…!?”

‘What is this?’

He felt a chill in his chest as he was cut by the cold blade. 

It was partly because Grand Duke’s swordsmanship was completely different from before, but also because he had seen that swordsmanship somewhere before.

Swoosh.

But he didn’t have time to think about it. Grand Duke slashed his sword diagonally again. 

Blood spurted from Eurius’s shoulder again.

‘This is definitely the swordsmanship of the Grand Master that I saw in the Imperial Palace report.’

The swordsmanship that Grand Duke was showing now was exactly the same as the one that dominated hundreds of meters of space and turned a dense forest into a logging site in an instant.

It was stealthy and fast! Above all, there was no trace or trajectory of the sword swinging, and the attack came across the space in a single breath, making it too difficult to block.

He somehow avoided fatal wounds twice, but the third one aimed at his neck.

[Right.]

Clang!

“…!?”

Grand Duke showed a slightly surprised expression. 

He thought he would at least inflict a wound, even if he couldn’t completely cut off his neck, but Eurius blocked his sword as if he had foreseen it in advance.

‘Was it a coincidence?’

[Left waist, right ankle and knee.]

Clang! Clang!

But it wasn’t a coincidence. Eurius blocked Grand Duke’s sword like a ghost.

‘How can this swordsmanship be so easily blocked?’

Grand Duke’s calm momentum was momentarily shaken. 

But soon he regained his composure and moved his sword calmly again.

On the other hand, Eurius sighed with relief and looked at the sword in his hand.

‘This damn sword is ticking, but it does help when it needs to, huh?’

The reason why he seemed to easily block Grand Duke’s attack was thanks to the Yellow Dragon Sword’s foresight.

‘I don’t know how he learned the swordsmanship of the Great Emperor, but it’s worth a try in this situation!’

If he could read where the sword was aiming in advance, wouldn’t it be possible to counterattack as well as defend? 

On top of that, the Yellow Dragon Sword also gave him this help.

[Center, weak point.]

Shriek!

In an instant, Eurius’s thrust broke through Grand Duke’s offensive in one breath. 

Grand Duke quickly defended his chest area, but was pushed back by the momentum.

Bang!

“Cough!”

As soon as the explosion sounded, Grand Duke staggered back. 

His expression, which had been calm, gradually turned into doubt and astonishment.

“…!?”

***

Jegal Unhyeon watched their duel with a rare expression of astonishment.

‘I had a hunch, but I didn’t know there was such a master in the Western Continent.’

The swordsmanship that Grand Duke was showing now was so complex that even he couldn’t confidently guarantee defense. 

But what was more surprising was Eurius’s response.

‘It’s strange, isn’t it? My lord shouldn’t have reached that level yet, but he’s too easily handling it.’

As he said, the situation in the arena was Eurius’s one-sided advantage. 

Except for a few times when he grazed at first, he was rather blocking the opponent’s sword unilaterally and pushing him back.

If his martial arts were inferior to his opponent, there was only one conclusion for that case.

‘Either the side that is being pushed back has an incomplete swordsmanship or my lord already knows how to break all the sword paths, one of the two,’

And there were people who watched their battle with surprise from the south of Daegon as well.

“Tsk! That Eurius bastard was hiding his skills from me too.”

“When this incident is over, His Majesty’s reputation will spread throughout the continent.”

The emperor and the knights who were Eurius’s allies were surprised but also pleased, while the nobles were gaping with their jaws dropped.

“His Majesty the First Prince is pushing back His Majesty Grand Duke?”

“How did this happen?”

It was something they couldn’t imagine at all from Grand Duke’s reputation that spread throughout the continent.

***

Clang!

‘There’s no answer. He’s reading me completely.’

Grand Duke bit his lip as his sword was blocked again and received Eurius’s counterattack. 

He had brought out his trump card, but he was rather being pushed back. It was something he couldn’t understand with his common sense.

‘I can’t lose here. Not here…’

He squeezed out his last strength and prepared for his best attack.

“…!?”

Eurius, who had been pushing Grand Duke for a while, tensed up. 

Grand Duke’s momentum, which had been calm regardless of his emotions, became even more serene. 

This was a sure sign that a more terrifying attack would come.

Swoosh!

Soon Grand Duke released his momentum that he had gathered quietly in one go.

It sounded like a downpour as Grand Duke’s sword split into dozens and aimed at Eurius’s whole body.

Just as a gentle breeze turned into a fierce storm that destroyed buildings and uprooted trees, Grand Duke’s attack had a fearsome power.

[It’s sloppy, right upper beam.]

But the Yellow Dragon Sword, which had been silent except for giving advice until then, suddenly criticized harshly.

‘That’s harsh. I honestly wouldn’t dare to do such an attack.’

Eurius wondered about that while following the direction that the Yellow Dragon Sword told him and clashed with all his strength.

Kwaaang!

The moment a deafening explosion hit Daegon again, everyone’s eyes couldn’t leave this last clash. Eurius had the upper hand, but Grand Duke’s last momentum was so intense.

‘What’s the result?’

Clang!

“Cough!”

Eurius, whose arm and shoulder had become ragged, groaned and wrapped his right arm and retreated.

“Ah!”

His appearance made the emperor and the knights worry for a moment. 

But that was only for a moment.

“…”

Clang!

Grand Duke, who had been standing still with a calm momentum, had his chest deeply slashed diagonally and blood spurted out. 

He had suffered a deep sword wound that almost exposed his bones and organs.

“Kuh…”

He writhed in pain, but he didn’t show any resentment. Rather, he looked at Eurius with a regretful expression.

“I lost.”

[Overheat release.]

“Cough!”

Eurius, who spat out blood again and suffered a severe internal injury, was not in a good condition either, but he still had the strength to hold his sword.

But that wasn’t important. He had a lot to ask Grand Duke now.

“Don’t you have something to tell me?”

Grand Duke, who barely stood up again with a deep wound, closed his eyes quietly.

‘I didn’t expect to end up like this. It’s really pathetic.’

“What do you want me to say?”