Chapter 31

While Lamber was engaged in a fierce battle with the hand-shaped golem, Fiona and the others were facing a man dressed in the formal attire of the "Dragon of Makyin" on the second underground floor.

The man had bandages wrapped around his face, and his left eye, which was visible, was long and crescent-shaped, revealing a glimpse of his evil and cruel nature.

The mummy man was blocking the way at the stairs leading from the second underground floor to the first underground floor.

"Get out of the way! Don't you know that something terrible is happening right now!"

Lloyd shouted at the mummy man.

As Lloyd said, the underground maze of Ainzas was already beginning to collapse.

Although not as severe as the collapse on the fourth underground floor where Dormilion was, it was enough to sense that something abnormal was happening.

Occasionally, large vibrations would cause cracks to appear in the walls, and rocks would fall from the ceiling.

It was clear that if they stayed here, they would eventually be buried alive.

"Of course I know. But you won't be allowed to proceed from here. Come by force if you must."

The mummy man said this while preparing his weapon.

In his hand was a large, distorted sword.

"Are you trying to be honorable! Your leader, Titan, is dead. I don't know what you were planning, but it's all over now!"

Fiona shouted at the mummy man.

But the mummy man showed no sign of backing down.

"Regardless of whether the master is alive or dead, it seems something strange is happening. However, I can't let you escape after all this. I don't want to be killed by the Earl as well."

With that, the mummy man smiled and looked at Fiona and the other two with his long, narrow eyes.

"Besides, three young men desperately trying to escape from the collapse... your despair is quite arousing. I can take my time enjoying it before leaving."

Fiona and the others were speechless at the mummy man's words.

The mummy man, covering his mouth with his hand, chuckled.

"Ah, I haven't even introduced myself yet. My name is Jucarius Ziedelrecht. Why do you look so surprised? You should at least know the name of the one who will kill you. I am a gentleman, after all."

Lloyd, sensing from Jucarius' words and actions that a battle was inevitable, quickly readied his sword.

"Just a lookout for the second floor! You're nothing special, I'm coming in!"

Lloyd said this and charged at Jucarius.

Fiona and Lily followed Lloyd, slightly hesitant.

Jucarius crouched low, placing one hand on the floor and aligning his distorted sword at the same height as his head.

Lloyd was completely wrong.

The Ziedelrecht family was a famous noble house in the underworld, known for producing top-notch secret adventurers, assassins, and killers from within their family.

The Ziedelrecht family was notorious for being cruel and cold, and anyone with knowledge in this area would tremble at the mere mention of their name.

Jucarius couldn't afford to stand out in the open, so he mainly worked behind the scenes. Even fellow guild adventurers hardly knew his family name.

However, in the "Dragon of Makyin," he was a skilled swordsman second only to the guild master, Titan.

He volunteered for the lookout this time to toy with and kill those who fled.

He had loved observing people in utter despair since childhood.

"Raaaah! I've got you!"

Lloyd's sword seemed to pierce Jucarius' neck, who was in a crouching position.

At least, that's what Lloyd thought.

In reality, his sword blade was broken and fell to the floor before it reached Jucarius' neck.

"What!?"

"A single swing of the 'Crushing Giant'..."

Jucarius smiled.

The large, distorted sword Jucarius wielded was called the 'Crushing Giant.'

This sword had a peculiar pattern on its blade, which was designed to catch the enemy's weapon and break it by applying force from the side, as its name suggested.

Handling it required delicate control of force, but in the hands of a skilled swordsman like Jucarius, the 'Crushing Giant' was unbeatable.

The opponent wouldn't even realize when their weapon was broken.

No, they couldn't realize it.

The 'Crushing Giant' not only broke the weapon but also the opponent's spirit, perfectly suited to Jucarius' desire to see others in despair.

"Lloyd!"

Fiona tackled Lloyd to the side, putting distance between him and Jucarius.

She then approached Jucarius, throwing her sword scabbard from just outside his reach.

Jucarius knocked the scabbard away with his sword.

Fiona took advantage of the moment when Jucarius' attention was on the scabbard, closing the distance.

Jucarius easily parried Fiona's sword and sent her flying backward.

Fiona, however, deliberately went with the momentum and quickly regained her distance.

"My sword is reinforced with magic copper. It won't break so easily..."

As Fiona said this, a large crack appeared in her sword's blade.

"No, this can't be..."

"There is nothing that the 'Crushing Giant' cannot break. No matter how strong the sword or the will, it is just a stick in my presence. Now, try to strike back with your broken sword. Come, show me a more despairing face to entertain me."

"So, it can break any sword, I see. Indeed, a terrifying weapon."

As if to interrupt Jucarius' words, loud footsteps echoed through the corridor.

It was Lamber.

Lamber was already in a battle stance, his large sword at the ready.

"Lamber!"

"Letting everyone escape. The Earl will be furious when he learns of this. What were the masters doing..."

Jucarius turned his gaze toward the sound and was speechless.

Jucarius had never seen Lamber directly before.

He only knew that Lamber was a skilled swordsman in heavy armor.

"Magic copper...?"

Jucarius, with his extensive knowledge of weapons, instinctively realized that Lamber's equipment contained a significant amount of magic copper.

However, he couldn't believe his own judgment.

Firstly, magic copper was extremely expensive and couldn't be used so freely, and secondly, high-purity magic copper weapons were too heavy to handle properly.

A man clad in a block of magic copper approaching at an incredible speed was nothing short of a nightmare.

Jucarius stood there, mouth agape, staring at Lamber in shock.

It wasn't until Lamber was right in front of him that Jucarius regained his composure, barking and holding the 'Crushing Giant' horizontally to meet Lamber's large sword.

This was a counter technique where the sword would be tightly locked and broken using the opponent's strength.

Instinctively sensing the gap in skill between himself and Lamber, Jucarius chose this counter technique almost unconsciously.

The blood of the Ziedelrecht family guided him to the most likely path to victory.

The swords locked together, producing a dull metallic sound.

A broken blade fell to the floor.

But there was no smile on Jucarius' face.

"No, this can't be... This isn't supposed to happen..."

The broken blade belonged to the 'Crushing Giant.'

Lamber stepped on the broken sword and swung his large sword for a second strike.

"It seems you were bluffing."

"Ugh, ughhhh!"

Jucarius, barking madly, swung the broken 'Crushing Giant.'

Lamber shattered the hilt with his large sword and then split Jucarius' body in two vertically.

Lamber sheathed his large sword and turned to the three standing there.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go. This place will collapse soon."