Chapter 50: The Great Champion Battle (5)

Benson never trusted the concept of karma.

Despite his various misdeeds, he had always walked a smooth path thanks to his father, a knight, and became a knight for Barco, a powerful figure in the northeast.

Perhaps because of this, he took great pride in being a knight.

Living a life of power that commoners could never dream of, he did his best for Barco, the source of that power.

His actions toward Kevin.

They were driven by excessive loyalty.

Unable to suppress his rising pride, he mocked his opponent, never expecting such a result.

'Is this karma?'

His vision went dark.

He had served Anthony Barco and had many opportunities to meet Roman Dmitri.

There was one rumor that Roman Dmitri's image had been reversed due to the Blood Gang incident, but Benson didn't believe it.

In fact, it was a reasonable judgment.

The Roman Dmitri he had seen with his own eyes was a foolish boy, and he thought it was fine to cross the line.

But reality was different.

Roman Dmitri.

He had beheaded Homer.

Watching the blood splatter, Benson felt chills run down his spine, even though he wasn't the one fighting.

'I really made a big mistake.'

If only.

If he had known Roman's true nature.

Benson would never have touched Kevin and would have tried his best to serve Dmitri instead of Barco.

But the water had already been spilled.

His life as a knight for Barco held him back, and his arrogant actions came back to haunt him.

Baron Barco's order to step forward as the last great champion.

Knowing he couldn't refuse, he walked out with a pale face like a condemned man.

'Shit.'

The people's gazes.

They didn't look up to him.

They didn't cheer for him as a knight of Barco; it seemed they thought of him as a corpse.

"I am Benson of Barco."

He tried to suppress his trembling voice.

Who would come out?

There was a two-star swordsman in Lawrence, and if he appeared, Benson knew he couldn't avoid death.

'Oh God, please, just let me live once more.'

At that moment.

A figure stepped out from the Lawrence camp.

A familiar face.

A small build.

Benson couldn't hold back the laughter that burst out.

'Could that boy really be my opponent?'

It was clear.

The young soldier who had slapped him.

Seeing the boy step forward as a great champion, Benson looked up to the sky and clenched his fists.

'Oh God, thank you so much.'

He thought.

He was alive.

In his eyes, Kevin looked like a pardon.

* * *

Flap.

The final battle began.

Benson's tension was completely gone.

Even though the flag signaled the start of the battle, he didn't rush in but showed a relaxed attitude.

"At first, I doubted my eyes. No matter how one-sided the fight was, I never thought you would be sent out as the last great champion."

He grinned.

One corner of his mouth lifted, and he couldn't hide his joy.

"Well, I guess you wanted some revenge. But whether by your own will or by someone else's, you've been abandoned by the lord you serve. Think about it. A scrawny, weakling like you, who can't even wield a sword properly—would you send such a person out as the last great champion if you were in charge? Of course not! This means you're useless, and your future was decided the moment you accepted the order."

Swish.

He raised his sword.

Kevin still watched Benson calmly.

Spreading his legs to a suitable distance, he aimed his sword precisely at Benson with a sharp gaze.

"Arrogant brat."

Was it the relief of knowing he would live?

His pride was hurt late.

Seeing the boy glare at him, determined to win, Benson kicked the ground fiercely with a fierce look.

"Die!"

Thud.

Benson's movements were slow.

Because the previous two battles were on a different level, people didn't see them as particularly fast.

But no one doubted Benson's victory.

Kevin was so small, clearly a young soldier, and Benson's build completely dominated him.

A clear disparity in strength.

As Benson swung his sword with a heavy movement, Kevin turned his head slightly and instead dove into his opponent's embrace.

Splash.

Blood splattered.

A bloodline appeared on Kevin's cheek, but he ignored it and thrust his sword upward into Benson's jaw.

The jaw is an area not protected by armor, a threatening attack.

Benson raised his arm to block the sword and simultaneously struck Kevin's abdomen with his other arm.

Clang!

Thud!

Kevin's attack was blocked.

The sword, without using aura, couldn't penetrate steel, and his expression slightly distorted from the blow to his abdomen.

However.

He didn't step back.

Without a single groan, Kevin swung his sword again at his opponent's opening, as if the pain in his abdomen didn't matter.

The speed of the sword was faster than expected.

Muscles trained from farming and odd jobs exerted their strength, and he accurately cut the connection between the armor's arm and torso.

Rip!

"Ugh."

Benson groaned.

An unexpected counterattack.

Benson charged into his opponent.

Kevin was thrown back and rolled on the ground, and Benson immediately pounced, stabbing down with his sword.

"Die!"

Thud!

By a hair's breadth.

Kevin quickly dodged, and the sword embedded itself in the ground. Kevin jumped up and closed the distance with Benson.

He refused to give any space, almost obsessively.

Kevin and Benson. The physical difference between a boy and an adult was significant, and their attack ranges were markedly different.

Kevin instinctively knew he had to get close to his opponent, and even when his face was cut and he was slammed into the ground, he never lost his balance.

Clang!

Clank!

Swords clashed relentlessly.

Clearly, Benson had a physical advantage and was overwhelming his opponent, but no decisive moment had come.

"This brat!"

Benson's face turned red.

His pride was hurt.

His opponent was a young soldier.

While Benson had followed an elite path to become a knight, Kevin was a nobody.

Yet he couldn't finish him off.

His anger boiled.

He had intended to play around and end it, but Kevin's fierce gaze changed his mind.

'I'll kill him no matter what.'

He changed his mindset.

Even if he got hurt.

He wanted to brutally punish this ignorant brat.

"Where do you think you're going!"

Whoosh.

Benson swung his sword with all his might, and Kevin tilted his head back.

A chilling moment.

Benson charged like a madman.

Abandoning some of his defense, he launched a storm of continuous attacks, and Kevin stepped back, blocking his opponent's attacks.

Each attack made Kevin stagger.

Blocking the sword's impact was not enough, and Benson's attacks had already pushed Kevin to the crowd.

The outcome was clear.

Benson's victory.

No other result was expected.

The physical difference was overwhelming, and a few months of training weren't enough to defeat a knight.

Clang!

"!"

Kevin's arm was pushed back.

He couldn't withstand his opponent's strength.

Benson seized the opportunity and attempted a full-force follow-up attack.

Whoosh!

The sword slicing through the air.

A life-or-death moment.

Seeing Kevin also attempt an attack, Benson decided to expose his chest and finish it.

'Anyway, that sword can't penetrate my armor.'

A lackluster battle.

The presence of armor couldn't be ignored.

Just before Benson's sword cut Kevin.

Suddenly, Benson's eyes widened.

Rip!

Splash!

A red sword.

Kevin's sword cut through Benson's armor, and dozens of blood droplets splattered in front of Benson's eyes.

Roman had said.

The Ghostly Demon Technique grows faster than any other method, at the cost of pain and sacrifice.

He was right.

From the day he cut off his own arm.

The Ghostly Demon Technique had taken root in Kevin's mind.

- Kill, kill, kill!

- That brat is hurting you!

- Take revenge now!

The egos of the Ghostly Demon Technique chattered.

They were hallucinations.

Non-existent, disturbing the mind as the price of the Ghostly Demon Technique.

Kevin faced Benson with red, burning eyes.

The physical pain didn't matter.

Even when Benson's massive fist struck his abdomen, it was nothing compared to the pain of cutting off his arm.

He endured.

Suppressing the pain, he closed the distance with his opponent.

- Above!

- Be careful!

Instinct told him.

His opponent would swing his sword from above.

Kevin believed the Ghostly Demon Technique and narrowly avoided the attack.

Benson's sword passed dangerously close to his face.

In a situation where a moment's carelessness could mean death, Kevin felt alive.

'I want to be a useful sword for my lord.'

Chris was chosen as a great champion.

Seeing him confidently say he could defeat a three-star knight, Kevin felt envious.

He had been first.

He had decided to follow Roman before Chris, but the difference in talent meant he wasn't favored.

His family had received Roman's favor.

But what was he doing for Roman?

He wanted to earn Roman's trust and carry out his orders like Chris, but all he had done was stand by and get slapped by Benson, who insulted Roman.

It could be called inferiority.

Or excessive loyalty.

Kevin wanted revenge.

He wanted to tear Benson's mouth, who had insulted Roman, and prove that he was a useful sword.

Then.

Whoosh!

Benson's attack.

His opponent was confident of victory.

Believing he could win by exposing his chest, it was a mistake because he hadn't properly assessed Kevin.

'Ghostly Demon Technique.'

- Haha!

- Kill!

A trace of mana.

A red aura rose from the sword.

It was a power he could only use for a brief moment, but it was strong enough to cut through steel.

Rip!

He cut through the armor.

The flesh beneath was also cut, and red blood droplets splattered.

"!"

Benson's shocked face was visible.

Despite the intense pain, he distorted his expression and desperately swung his sword at Kevin to survive.

Kevin didn't dodge.

The flesh of his shoulder was torn.

Benson's sword turned his weak body into a rag, but in exchange, his chest was completely exposed.

Kevin charged.

Even as the flesh of his shoulder was more brutally torn with each movement, Kevin's eyes were fixed only on Benson's wound.

There was a time when he would make a fuss over a slight cut on his finger.

The child, who had grown up with his parents' love, had grown up completely differently in the storms of life.

Kevin's expression turned vicious.

For a moment, their eyes met.

The moment Benson's face, which had ignored Kevin, turned to fear, Kevin stabbed the wound without hesitation.

Thud!

"Argh!"

Benson screamed.

He no longer had the strength to use mana.

He had to rely solely on physical strength, and Kevin, as Benson fell, climbed on top of him and crushed his upper body.

Then, gripping the sword blade, he relentlessly stabbed the wound.

His hand was cut, and pain arose, but he was focused only on killing his opponent.

Thud! Thud!

Thud!

"Grgh."

Blood splattered each time the sword was pulled out.

Benson, gasping for breath and in agony, tried to push Kevin away with his blood-stained hands to survive.

But it was in vain.

His pitiful efforts couldn't stop anything.

Even as Kevin's eyes were gouged and his head was pulled, he continued to mutilate the wound, attacking relentlessly.

Benson's body twitched.

There was no more resistance.

After stabbing the wound several more times, Kevin lifted his head, panting heavily.

"Huff, huff."

Benson's condition.

It was so gruesome that it was hard to recognize as a human body.

The final battle.

The winner was Kevin.

Everyone held their breath.

Kevin's appearance.

He looked like a demon.

Even though it was a fight to the death, the cruelty of his actions made some people cover their mouths.

Kevin staggered to his feet.

His face was covered in blood.

Blood dripped from his torn shoulder, but he moved as if the wound didn't matter.

All eyes were on him.

With each difficult step.

People's gazes followed.

How far had he walked?

Kevin arrived in front of Roman.

Looking down at him, Roman's indifferent gaze met Kevin's, who looked up at him like a child seeking praise.

"I'm back."

At those words.

Roman rewarded Kevin.

"Good work, Kevin."

That was enough.

Kevin smiled brightly, as if he had gained the world.

The battle was over.

The great champion battle between Lawrence and Barco.

Everyone had said Barco would win, but the result was enough to shock the Kingdom of Cairo.

Three wins in three battles.

Lawrence's overwhelming victory.

And at the center of it all was Roman Dmitri.