Chapter 291
“I don’t know what you’re hesitating for, when you’re about to lose The Mark because you distrust the Constellation.”
Istanya’s complexion turned pale.
That was right.
The reason she was losing her Star Power was because she had begun to distrust the Constellation.
She had once possessed a stronger heart for the Constellation than anyone, but after becoming the Holy Emperor and facing various realities, her heart had grown distant.
“I have no intention of making any unreasonable demands just because you’ve become my vassal. I am merely trying to share my Star Power with you.”
Of course, that was a lie.
Chris planned to make Istanya his sucker.
‘Evan alone is not enough. I need to make more suckers in the Alliance to use as my hands and feet.’
Evan chimed in from the side.
“You do not need to worry. I swear on my sword, he is not one to make such a proposal with ill intentions. It is all for the sake of the world. For your information, I am also his vassal.”
As the promising young hero of a renowned swordsmanship house went that far, Istanya’s eyes wavered with conflict.
Chris drove the nail in the coffin.
“If you don’t want to, we can call it off. But, it’s a shame. For the future of the world, it would be a problem if you were to be excommunicated for losing your Star Power. For a person like you to become the ashes at the stake in vain would be a loss for the world.”
It was pressure that emphasized the purely noble intentions of his proposal, while at the same time subtly reminding her that if things continued as they were, she would soon be excommunicated and burned at the stake.
In the end, Istanya nodded her head.
“…I understand. I will become your vassal.”
Chris raised the corners of his mouth.
“I accept.”
Fwaaat!
Chris’s soul covered Istanya’s, and the shape of The Mark engraved on her soul began to change.
From a White Wing to the shape of a black moon, holding a radiant sublimity.
And so, Chris succeeded in making Istanya his vassal.
It was the birth of a new sucker.
* * *
‘Good.’
Chris let out a sigh of relief.
He had wondered if he could really make Istanya his sucker, but fortunately, he had succeeded.
‘Handling Star Power doesn’t seem to be a problem either.’
As mentioned before, the absolute amount of Star Power she could wield had decreased.
But, that was fine.
As mentioned before, what was important was the symbolism that her Star Power was intact.
‘I’ve also passed on the method of wielding Star Power efficiently, so the might of her Star Power will gradually grow stronger.’
Although he hadn’t awakened Star Power himself, Chris, who had helped Olivia in his childhood, was more well-versed in how to handle Star Power than anyone.
‘And there’s also the method of combining the Mana of White Light, which became known in the latter half of the Age of Ruin, with Star Power to amplify its power.’
If she just got used to it, she would be able to manifest a Star Power even more powerful than before.
And, taking Istanya as a vassal had an unexpected benefit.
‘To think I would become able to wield Star Power.’
Fwaaaaaat!
A white radiance shimmered from Chris’s hand.
It was not the Mana of Radiance.
Surprisingly, it was Star Power.
‘It’s thanks to my soul-rank rising.’
To use Star Power, the soul must possess the characteristics of a Sacred Soul Body.
However, by becoming an Elder and his rank rising, he had become able to wield a portion of Star Power despite not having a Sacred Soul Body.
However, its manifestation was not smooth. He could only barely use it intermittently.
‘Still, it will be an enormous help.’
It was like gaining a hidden trump card.
‘Since Star Power can be applied for many different effects.’
The insufficient amount of Star Power would grow proportionally stronger as his achievements rose and his soul-rank increased further in the future.
In any case, now that he had made Istanya a sucker, it was time to achieve his real objective.
“…Are you really going to strike the Ghost Sword King?”
Now knowing Chris wasn't some divine prophet, Istanya had reverted to her original personality and informal tone.
“Yes, I have a plan.”
“What kind of plan?”
Chris explained it simply, and Istanya’s eyes widened as if they would tear.
Was it because it was a brilliant stratagem?
The opposite.
It was a plan that was reckless beyond compare.
“Isn’t that no different from a suicide mission?!”
Istanya raised her voice.
“To think you would challenge the Ghost Sword King to a direct duel?!”
That was right.
Chris planned to capture the Ghost Sword King through a duel.
‘A surprise attack would be difficult.’
There would be no opening, and capturing the Ghost Sword King that way would lead to an all-out war between the Holy Empire and the Tri-Alliance. Capturing him honorably through a duel was the best way.
“Or are you saying you've reached the realm of a 9-Star Transcendent?”
“No, my power is still insufficient against the Ghost Sword King.”
No, it wasn't just 'insufficient'.
The Ghost Sword King was an absolute powerhouse, once considered an equal to Nordian in the past.
However, that was fine.
“I will set a condition. That we duel using only pure swordsmanship, the Ghost Sword King’s specialty. If I lose, the price will be you, the Holy Emperor, bowing your head and apologizing to the Ghost Sword King. He won't refuse that.”
The Ghost Sword King was a sword fiend, mad for the blade, and had always enjoyed duels that tested pure swordsmanship. Furthermore, since his desire for honor was extremely high, there was no way he would refuse if he could also receive an apology from the Holy Emperor.
“What? As if I would accept such a condition?!”
“Why not? If things go wrong and you really have to bow your head to the Ghost Sword King, you can just get excommunicated for disgracing the order, can't you? If that doesn't work, seek asylum with the Dark Demonic House. I'll take you in.”
“Are you insane?!”
For reference, Chris had already revealed his identity to Istanya. Now that she was his vassal, it didn't matter if she found out the truth.
When Istanya found out Chris was a magus, the look on her face had been a masterpiece.
-M-my soul, to a magus?
She looked as if she’d been scammed by a devil, so Chris corrected her, clarifying that the contract wasn't fraudulent.
-I never said I wasn't a magus, did I? You should have asked before we made the contract. You really should have checked beforehand.
-You damn devil bastard!!
-Your Majesty, this Evan swears on his sword, Christian is a magus, but he is a magus who will save the world….
-Shut up, you too!!
There was quite a commotion, but in any case, what was done was done. Chris let out a chuckle.
“Well, don't worry too much. The part where you bow your head will not happen.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Because I'm going to win.”
“!!”
Istanya had a dumbfounded look on her face.
“You think you can beat the Ghost Sword King in swordsmanship? Do you think you're the head of some renowned swordsmanship house?”
Dueling with pure swordsmanship didn't mean there was hope.
The Ghost Sword King had another epithet.
The Greatest Sword in the Magus Empire.
In other words, among all the magi who wielded a sword in the Magus Empire, the one who stood at the very pinnacle was the Ghost Sword King.
‘In truth, the real 'Greatest Sword in the Magus Empire' is the 6th-ranked 'Demon King of Silver Snow'. But if you exclude those at the Demon King level, it’s true that he has the best swordsmanship skills.’
Even for Chris, it was an impossible task, but.
“No, it's possible. There is a way.”
“What?”
“I plan to receive swordsmanship training from someone whose skills are not inferior to the Ghost Sword King's.”
What in the world was this nonsense?
“Unless they're the head of a renowned swordsmanship house, there's no way someone like that exists….”
“There is.”
Chris turned his gaze.
It was toward Evan.
The greatest genius of the current generation of the renowned swordsmanship house.
His level of Stellar Radiance had not yet fully matured, but his swordsmanship skills alone were those of a supreme swordsman who could overwhelm any knight in the Alliance.
Chris looked straight at Evan and spoke.
“Evan, you will teach me swordsmanship. So that I can defeat the Ghost Sword King.”
* * *
If the person with the most outstanding swordsmanship in the Magus Empire was the Ghost Sword King, then who was it in the Alliance?
The current head of the renowned swordsmanship house, the leader of the White Tiger Order, the First Sword of Karn, and so on—there were several candidates, but Chris believed Evan was also among their ranks.
‘Evan's swordsmanship is not merely at the 6-Star level.’
Currently, Evan was at a state of having reached the end of 6-Star.
A frightening growth speed.
The first reason such growth was possible was thanks to the many blessings of the Constellations, but there was another important reason.
It was because his swordsmanship achievements far surpassed his level.
‘It's a situation where his level of Stellar Radiance can't keep up with his swordsmanship achievements.’
In terms of the pure art of the sword, Evan's current achievements were rapidly approaching his previous peak.
‘It wasn't like this in his previous life. I wonder what triggered such explosive growth.’
In his previous life, Evan only began to grow in earnest after the Age of Ruin had truly begun.
Before that, he was just a rookie with some potential, but this time, it was completely different.
‘Even if he received the blessings of the Constellations more quickly… could there have been a catalyst for his awakening that I don't know about?’
There was indeed a catalyst that Chris didn't know about.
It was Chris himself.
In his previous life, Evan was consumed by his desire for revenge against his family, suffering from an inner demon for a long time, which prevented him from growing properly.
He only cast off that inner demon after the Age of Ruin began, when he witnessed the world's miserable state and set aside his personal vengeance.
In contrast, in this life, not only did he avoid falling prey to an inner demon thanks to Chris, but he was also spurred on by Chris's appearance of working for the world (?), making desperate, bone-grinding efforts to catch up to him. Thanks to that, he achieved this miraculous growth.
In any case, Chris planned to improve his own swordsmanship skills under Evan's guidance.
‘Of course, even for me, it's not something I can master in just a day or two.’
But there was a way for that, too.
“Open the ‘Land of Warriors’.”
“!!”
Istanya had a surprised look on her face.
It was a sacred site within the Holy Emperor's palace, one that possessed very special properties.
‘It's a place where one can see immense training effects, just as the name suggests.’
In particular, the time efficiency was enormous.
What would take ten days to achieve on the outside could be achieved in just one day in the ‘Land of Warriors’.
One could see a training effect of a full ten times.
An unbelievable effect.
However, there was one strange point.
If such an effective sacred site existed, why weren't the skills of the Holy Empire's knights overwhelmingly superior?
There was a reason.
Despite its tremendous effect, it was rare for any of the order's Starlight Knights to actually train in the Land of Warriors.
“…Are you really saying you'll enter the Land of Warriors? Don't you know it's impossible to withstand, no matter how great you are? You'll either die or be left a cripple even if you survive.”
Because it was extremely difficult to endure.
‘The moment you step inside, all sorts of calamities strike.’
That much was fine.
There was another, more fatal reason why the Land of Warriors was considered not just a sacred site, but a forbidden zone.
‘You have to endure the misaligned axis of time.’
There were several reasons for the high training efficiency of the Land of Warriors.
Abnormal gravity, various life-threatening calamities, a concentration of vital energy so thick it felt like pressure, and so on.
Because one had to train while enduring all these hardships, great achievements could be made.
However, the most decisive factor was the axis of time.
‘On average, time flows more than five times slower.’
In other words, one day on the outside becomes five days in the Land of Warriors.
This wasn't something to be happy about simply because the training time increased.
‘Due to the discrepancy in the timeline, one experiences an enormous strain—physically, mentally, and spiritually.’
A human is completely adapted to the current axis of time.
From their body and the flow of their energy to their mind and the state of their soul.
However, if that suddenly changed by a factor of five, a huge strain was inevitable.
‘It's impossible to withstand.’
Occasionally, some would challenge it spiritedly, but it would only end in reckless bravado.
The strain from the distorted time axis, in particular, left massive aftereffects, so even those who barely survived were often left crippled.
‘To capture the Ghost Sword King, I have to go this far.’