Chapter 1406. Crimson Ball (16)

“Count Kim Hyun-Sung?”

If nothing else, the fact that the title "Count" was attached to his name made his name sound cooler.

The rage on his face looked cool as well.

‘Our Hyun-Sung is angry.’

“

Hoo... hoo...

”

‘Is he shaking with rage at how cruel and calculating the enemies are?’

Kim Hyun-Sung’s figure became blurry. While the royal guards were busy gnashing their teeth and maintaining the front line with their shields high up, he appeared at the flank and destroyed the undead. The undead were chopped into pieces in an instant, and they fell to the ground with dull

thuds

.

Kim Hyun-Sung was on the left just moments ago, but he was now standing on the right. The enemies collapsed into pieces a beat slower than the speed at which he swung his sword.

Those of a lower level wouldn't even see how Kim Hyun-Sung was cutting them down.

“

Screeeeech

”

“

Rooooar!

”

No, they likely wouldn't even realize that Kim Hyun-Sung was there.

He was in the midst of the undead horde, swinging his sword. From the front, it would be impossible to confirm whether he was even present. The spectators could probably see nothing but the arms and legs of the undead flying through the air.

Of course, they knew something unimaginable was happening in a place beyond their reach. An unbelievable scene was unfolding where the undead gathered. Keeping his posture as low as possible, Kim Hyun-Sung swung his sword nonstop, and with every swing of his sword, limbs would fly away.

There were no signs of elegant swordsmanship in how he swung his sword.

His opponents were mindless beasts, and Kim Hyun-Sung knew better than anyone that swinging fast and powerfully was the best approach against such enemies.

The few guards witnessing his martial prowess stared blankly at Kim Hyun-Sung, forgetting even the undead before their eyes.

“Is he even human...”

‘Go ahead and say something obvious like that.’

“He’s even more of a monster than I heard. Count Kim Hyun-Sung...”

‘Even I think he looks that way. A genius really is a genius.’

His combat sense could only be described as "overwhelming." He was a human being optimized for one thing alone—cutting things down. The fact that he could display this level of prowess at this point in time was astonishing in itself.

Of course, I expected him to be strong, but his performance was so extreme that it almost made me suspect that he had already regressed. Swing, move, swing again, move again. This simple sequence of actions was so efficient that it was unreal.

The undead couldn’t keep up with Count Kim Hyun-Sung. They would always be a beat too late to react, and their attacks always struck nothing but air.

Seeing the undead tripping over one another was so absurd it nearly made me laugh.

To them, he was a calamity. To us, he was hope. He was proving that a single man could become a strategy by himself. Indeed, he was

tactical

. The only regret was that no one here truly knew how to make proper use of Kim Hyun-Sung.

Although the quick-witted Lady Paint seemed to be carving out paths for him to move more freely, it wasn’t a perfect way to utilize him. If anything, it felt like it was isolating him instead. Of course, he looked like he didn’t care either way.

‘It’s because he’s angry. He’s furious at the bastards who did something so inhuman.’

Killing intent flickered in Kim Hyun-Sung’s eyes, and it looked as though he had lost his mind just a little. They had killed innocent people and turned them into members of the undead, so it was only natural for him to feel that way.

Calling him strictly lawful good was debatable, but at his core, he was born with a fundamentally righteous nature. There had to have been people here he laughed and talked with, so there was no way he could remain completely clear-headed in the face of this tragedy.

In his heart, he probably wanted to beat those monsters to a pulp with his own hands.

‘His spirit is impressive, but...’

His emotions were running too high, and I could see that his movements were starting to slow down.

“He’s definitely still unrefined...” I mumbled.

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. Just talking to myself, Miss Yeon-Soo,” I answered.

‘He already looks exhausted.’

His breathing was visibly unstable.

‘Second Hyun-Sung could go all day without getting tired.’

Just how hard had he been rampaging to burn out this fast? He was running short on oxygen. He was no longer moving the way he was moving just moments ago. He still wanted to keep moving, but he had already reached his limits.

His aggressiveness was admirable, and he delivered impact to match it, but his stamina was undeniably low. His sharpness was dulling; his once-quick steps no longer moved as freely, and worst of all, he hadn’t realized that he had already reached his limits.

The fool was still trying to maintain the same speed and power as before, unaware that he had been overextending from the very beginning. He clearly believed he could still do more, that he still had strength left, but one's limits would always ignore one’s will.

His body was sending out warning signs that Kim Hyun-Sung himself hadn't noticed.

‘At most, this will end in three seconds.’

His eyelids were trembling, his breathing was growing shallower and more ragged, and veins bulged across his neck and arms. His eyes were bloodshot as well, and his chest heaved as he breathed laboriously.

“

Hmph.

”

“...”

He tried to draw in another breath, but...

“

Haaa—

” He gasped. In that instant, all strength drained from him. His head had to be spinning, and his vision had to be swimming. He believed it was not over yet, but his body was focused solely on the act of gasping for air.

Regardless of his will, every nerve in him was trying to rest. The tension and the excitement... all of it vanished in an instant. Moments later, the undead rushed toward him.

“Isn’t that... dangerous?”

“Count Kim Hyun-Sung!”

At last, the royal guards raised their shields and moved toward him. It seemed I wasn’t the only one who realized just how foolish it would be to lose a trump card like him right now.

The young ladies created openings with magic, and a handful of adventurers forced back the undead, but they were nowhere near enough to reach Kim Hyun-Sung.

There was no choice but to move ourselves.

The moment I started running toward him, I saw Ha Yeon-Soo and Sun Hee-Young following behind me. Ha Yeon-Soo clearly disliked the situation, but what could she do?

Since I was running, she had no choice but to run, too. Without sparing even a glance at our foes, we charged straight in as enemies conveniently collapsed in our path. It took no time at all to reach Kim Hyun-Sung, who had already reached his limits.

“Count Kim Hyun-Sung... Count Kim Hyun-Sung?” I called out.

“

Haa... haa... haa... haa... hoo... haa...

”

‘This idiot’s still out of it.’

“

Haa... uh... ugh... haa...

”

“Slow your breathing for now, Count,” I instructed him.

“L-Lady Peneloti?”

‘So now he sees me?’

“

Hoo... haa... haaah... hoo... hoo...

I’m... sorry,” he muttered.

‘He’s completely spent. Damn it, he really did push himself too hard.’

He was confused as to why I was here, and he couldn't think straight at all. After I hauled him upright, he staggered to his feet at once. In the meantime, the royal guards rushed in with their shields, surrounding us.

The relentless pounding of the undead on the shields echoed as tensions spiked even higher.

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

“We’ll hold them here! Get inside, now!

“Hold the line! Hold!”

“Push them away!”

“

Hoo haa!

”

“Push them away!”

“

Yaaaaaaah!

”

“

Screeeech!

”

“We need support spells!”

Red arrows and streaks of magic flashed overhead as thunderous booms rang out all around us. Amidst the deafening chaos, we moved forward, pressing on no matter what.

When the barrier was finally sealed shut, the first thing that came into view was Lady Pastel, fighting back tears.

“...”

“...”

“Peneloti!”

After shoving Kim Hyun-Sung aside, she threw herself into my arms.

“

Heuk... heuuuuung!

Peneloti!”

The utterly exhausted Kim Hyun-Sung collapsed on the spot.

‘Someone please grab him.’

Soon, Lady Paint, Lady Brush, and Lady Palette gathered and rushed toward us as well. Their eyes brimmed with tears, and their faces were smeared with dirt and blood, yet they all rushed into my arms.

“Lady Peneloti. You’re safe.”

“I’m sorry. I-I only looked away for a moment and—”

‘No, that’s not it. This isn’t your fault.’

“Why on earth did you move on your own, Lady Peneloti?!” she yelled.

“Thank goodness you’re unharmed,” I said.

They all looked like they had countless questions for me. Why I had suddenly disappeared, how I made it up to the fourth floor, and how I survived here at all.

It was only natural to be curious. Sure enough, everyone bombarded me with questions at once, making it hard to answer even a single one.

Even when I tried to come up with a quick excuse, they gave me no opening to speak.

“

Heuuuuung...

I’m just glad you’re alive.

Hic

... I’m really glad, Peneloti—

hic

...”

‘What’s wrong with her... Why won’t she let go of me?’

She ought to have pulled away by now, yet she was still clinging to me like glue. It was my first time seeing her cry while clinging so desperately to me, and I was starting to think her emotions ought to shift at least a little by now.

I tried to push her back gently, but she buried her face into me.

The other young ladies seemed to have calmed down, yet she was still like this.

‘Come on...’

I wouldn’t really call it fortunate, but I saw the commander of the royal guards approaching us with heavy steps. The battle entered a brief lull, so he was likely here to discuss what would come next with Lady Paint. After all, everyone could tell that she was the leader here.

With that, Lady Pastel finally had no choice but to step away while wiping her tears away.

“...”

“...”

“A pleasure to meet you, Lady Paint,” the commander greeted.

“The pleasure is mine, Commander. Please forgive me for not offering a proper greeting. Given the circumstances...” Lady Paint greeted back.

“This is a wartime situation. Of course I don’t mind. If anything, I only regret that I cannot properly express my gratitude to the young ladies who saved the royal castle,” he said.

“You flatter us,” she said.

“I would like to hear your story in detail, but the situation doesn’t seem to allow for it,” he said.

“...”

“...”

“Shall we share what information we have for now?” she suggested.

The commander’s mustache twitched upward. Clearly, he had been following her orders all along, and I was sure he already had his suspicions. Lady Paint’s composure told him that he had come to the right person.

“Before that... if you’ll pardon my boldness, may I ask the first question? Do you happen to know anything at all about the current situation? Even the smallest detail would help. The ambush and the undead...” the commander asked.

Kim Hyun-Sung was listening closely to Lady Paint’s words as well, while quietly recovering his strength. Of course, the answer itself was obvious. There was no need to hide it, and there was no reason to lie.

“Marquis Jayce,” she said.

“Pardon?”

“No, not Marquis Jayce. That was a false identity. His real identity is Jin Cheong, one of the Republic's Five Tiger Generals,” Lady Paint clarified.

“...”

“...”

There was nothing for him to feel wronged about anymore, but the words that left Lady Paint’s mouth were surely unwelcome news from his perspective.

“That man... attacked the castle...” Lady Paint said.

“...”

“He summoned the undead here,” Lady Paint added.

“...”

“...”

“...”

"Commander Jin, do you believe in destiny?"

— Shut your mouth, Lee Ki-Young.