Emperor! Can You See Stats!?

Chapter 115: I kept my promise.

Clang!

Time rewound briefly to the moment when the last remaining Abyss Knight was crushed by Jegal Woonhyun.

“Ugh!”

The man in the golden mask staggered and groaned. 

He clutched his head with one hand, as if his brain was being torn apart by a severe headache.

The room where the man was located was quite far from the capital of the empire, but he was affected by the aftermath of his summoned creatures being annihilated, since he was linked to them by mana.

“Master! Are you alright?”

“…”

The man silently waved his hand, preventing his subordinates from supporting him. 

And he grumbled inwardly.

‘These bastards, they can’t even eat what I feed them. Well, I admit this was a bit of an exceptional situation.’

The man shook his head vigorously to shake off the pain and resumed his observation.

Even though his summoned creatures were reduced to dust to the point of being unable to fight, the link was not completely severed. 

He had many things he could do as long as there was some mana left.

***

As soon as the duel between Eurius and the Grand Duke ended, the situation of the battle was also decided.

The faces of the knights belonging to Gladius were as dark as death. 

They had completely lost their will to fight.

“How could this happen…”

The emperor ordered them to be captured and decided to watch the situation for a while.

He should have rushed over and arrested the Grand Duke right away, but Eurius had signaled him to wait a moment with a wink.

The Grand Duke still had his eyes slightly closed.

‘What do you want to ask him?’

Eurius had to think a little bit here. 

At first, when he returned to his childhood, he didn’t have much thought. 

He thought that even if he were in the Grand Duke’s position, he would want to make his nephew the emperor.

‘But no matter how I think about it, that alone doesn’t explain it.’

There was another problem. 

It was well known that the Grand Duke’s ancestor was a disciple of the Great Master, but how did he use the player’s skills?

Numerous questions flashed through Eurius’ mind, but soon he opened his mouth.

“First of all, I want to know why you hate me so much. Did I do something to offend you when I was young?”

This question included his doubts from his previous life.

He could not ask about the player-related things right away because there were too many eyes watching, and the hostility that the Grand Duke showed him since he showed his talent after returning to his childhood was too suspicious to be simply a power struggle.

The Grand Duke opened his eyes slightly and showed a hint of surprise in his pupils.

“You knew that too?”

“…”

When Eurius nodded silently, the Grand Duke made a condition.

“Can you promise me something before I answer you?”

“What condition is that?”

“Second Prince Leonhardt has nothing to do with this. It was my own plan. Can you spare his life?”

“I know that. I won’t hold Leon accountable for this. I’m sure Father knows it too.”

The emperor did not want to eliminate Leonhardt either. 

He would not punish him for being involved in this matter. 

But Eurius added a word in his mind.

‘As long as he doesn’t do anything stupid.’

When he got a confirmation from him, the Grand Duke opened his mouth.

“It’s my little regret about the sword.”

“Regret?”

Eurius asked back, and he frowned slightly.

“Don’t you know about my ancestor and Gladius?”

‘Come to think of it, I should ask him about that too.’

Eurius changed the topic.

“Then what about Illuminati and the cult?”

“Cult? What’s that?”

“Hmm?”

Only then did Eurius realize that they were not on the same page. 

The Grand Duke was not lying by looking at his condition. I

t was fortunate that he was willing to answer him obediently.

“Then where did you get those strange monsters?”

Eurius pointed to the fragments of the Abyss Knight that were shattered. 

The Grand Duke’s answer was brief.

“Black market.”

‘So Illuminati and the force that the Grand Duke mobilized are somehow different.’

“Then let me change the question! When did you join Illuminati? The secret force that is talked about in the royal family seems a bit different.”

“They contacted me after I inherited my title. The other forces too then…”

Whirring!

Suddenly, a violent vibration sound echoed in the battle area. 

The Grand Duke cut off his words when he noticed it.

Screech!

The source of the vibration was the fragments of the Abyss Knight that Eurius had pointed out earlier. 

The remains of the armor that were broken into hundreds and thousands of pieces scraped the floor incessantly and then rose into the air.

“…!?”

The risen fragments flew towards the Grand Duke and Eurius at the speed of light and began to circle around them.

Crack!

The moment a fine crack appeared on the fragments, Eurius remembered something that had happened before.

‘Could it be?’

“This is really bad luck, First Prince.”

As soon as a crack appeared on the fragments, a familiar but very unpleasant voice rang in the Grand Duke’s ear.

“You’re trying to expose your partner, huh?”

“…”

The man laughed as if he was enjoying himself.

“Don’t you at least have to die with me? It was fun while it lasted.”

As he said that, the Grand Duke also slowly raised his sword again and aimed at Eurius. He had suffered a life-threatening injury, but he still had the strength to do that.

“But this is a good opportunity for me.”

Rustle.

As the Grand Duke spoke, the fragments finally turned to dust. 

And the room was filled with a dull explosion that deafened the ears.

Boom!

The floor of the battle area shook once more. 

The explosion that occurred in the center was really terrifying. 

It was not only the explosion itself. 

The shockwave that followed swept across the entire battle area.

“Your Majesty!”

Carlos quickly erected a barrier to protect the emperor and his officials.

“Cough!”

The knights also vomited blood from blocking the shockwave. 

It was a fierce explosion. 

It didn’t matter that there were no deaths among those who were inside, since they were all outstanding knights!

“Eurius!”

“Master!”

The battle area was already half-destroyed by the shockwave alone, but what had happened at the center of the explosion?

Everyone in the room had no choice but to fix their eyes on the center of the explosion. Some, including the emperor who had forgotten his dignity, even ran towards that direction.

They couldn’t help but worry about Eurius’ life or death. 

They pushed through the dust that had risen high from the explosion and approached the center.

And when they reached a distance where they could identify with their eyes, they widened their eyes and looked for Eurius and the Grand Duke.

“Eurius?”

“…”

Despite such a powerful explosion, the Grand Duke and Eurius were still standing in their original confrontation.

 Surprisingly, Eurius was not seriously injured.

Of course, there was the previous fierce battle, and he was not unaffected by it. 

His clothes, which were already a mess, had almost turned into rags, but it was a very good result compared to the power of the explosion.

Eurius saw the emperor and spoke in a calm tone.

“I’m fine. But the Grand Duke is dead.”

“…!?”

As soon as he confirmed Eurius’ life or death, the emperor swept his chest and finally looked at the Grand Duke.

He was still holding his sword upright and standing in a dignified posture, but if you looked closely, he was frozen without moving.

He died in that posture. It was too pathetic for a warrior who had competed for the strongest in the continent.

“Hmm… No matter how great he was, he couldn’t survive with such a sword wound that made his guts spill out, and being caught in an explosion. Right?”

The emperor also made a complicated expression with a groan. 

But he still couldn’t believe his death, who had been his strongest enemy for his whole life.

Eurius also opened his mouth with a stiff expression.

“Actually, I have something to tell you about that.”

***

When the Grand Duke raised his sword, Eurius felt a threat to his life. 

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind like a carousel.

‘This explosion is not normal. Can I survive it while injured? And while blocking the Grand Duke’s attack?’

The answer was ‘No way.’ 

He had overcome the one-on-one duel with the Grand Duke somehow, but Eurius was in the worst crisis.

Eurius squeezed out his remaining force to defend himself. 

But the power of the explosion broke through his barrier in an instant and collided with his White Tiger Protection Skill.

“Cough!”

He felt death for a moment. 

He couldn’t defend himself with just his protection skill. 

The shockwave of the explosion would soon tear his body apart.

But at that moment! 

Something happened that no one expected.

Slash!

“…!?”

Eurius opened his eyes wide. The moment the shockwave tried to swallow his body, what he saw in his sight was countless traces of swords.

Those blue traces cut through his surrounding space innumerable times in an instant and stretched out like a net to protect him from the shockwave. 

It was such a strict defense that not even an ant could enter.

But what surprised Eurius was not just that he saved his life.

“Why?”

The Grand Duke also changed his expression several times in response to his question.

At first, he looked incredulous, then embarrassed, and finally calm again.

“I really played a ridiculous farce. I worked so hard, but this is where I succeeded…”

It was the Grand Duke’s sword that protected Eurius. 

And it was a technique he had never seen before.

[Good job, 80 points.]

Even Hwangryong Sword gave him a low evaluation this time. 

Curious about it, Eurius asked him.

“Is that related to the player?”

“…”

The Grand Duke did not answer him. 

He just took something out of his pocket and threw it at him.

Thud!

Eurius caught it.

“What is this?”

“If you take that to my domain Flan Dure, you will hear what you want.”

“…!?”

As Eurius stared at the object in his palm with an incomprehensible expression, the Grand Duke smiled faintly.

It was not his usual cold sarcasm, but a smile that Eurius had never seen before in his previous and current life.

“I kept my promise.”

He didn’t need to hear the rest of his words. 

It meant that he should keep his promise too.

“Hmm…”

Eurius realized the Grand Duke’s intention. 

He and the Grand Duke were both dead anyway from the explosion just now. 

The Grand Duke was badly injured, and he had no strength to defend himself.

‘This is not only a matter of promise, but also practically a debt I owe to the Grand Duke.’

“I understand.”

There was no voice to answer Eurius’ consent. 

The Grand Duke had already died standing upright.

But why did he protect Eurius at the last moment? 

It couldn’t be explained by just making him owe him.

‘Did he say his domain Flan Dure?’

Come to think of it, he had never visited a place that could be called the Grand Duke’s base.

It was risky enough to visit the southern part of the empire, let alone jump into such a tiger’s den.

***

After finishing his flashback, Eurius looked at the emperor and opened his mouth.

“Father, I have a request.”

“First, you need treatment. Your wounds are serious.”

“There is something more urgent than that.”

“Hmm?”

The emperor also asked again when he heard his serious tone.

“Please send me to the Grand Duke’s domain Flan Dure right now. I need to get there as soon as possible.”