The Sword Emperor Transmigrates

Chapter 151

After Leonard and his party defeated Pollux, there was nothing left in the Divine Territory that could endanger them. Though the centaurs were roaming around after losing their master, they couldn’t hurt the knights when they weren’t even strengthened by Castor’s power.

Leonard and his party swiftly left Gemini and met up with Calantha, who was waiting where they’d originally come from.

When Calantha saw how injured they were, he threw a fit. “Gods, how did you get so hurt? Castor is not a difficult opponent. Did something happen in there?”

Isaac answered, “Castor used himself as a sacrifice to summon his younger brother. We have just returned from fighting the god of pankration, Pollux of the Iron Fists.”

“Pollux—wait, how did you survive? It would take at least three or four Captains to defeat him.”

It was a rude question, but Leonard understood why he asked. Isaac couldn’t defeat him alone, but if there were three or four people as strong as him, they may have been successful. Even by himself, he did substantial damage to Pollux.

The only reason Pollux wouldn’t die was his abnormal durability. If it weren’t for his divine lineage, Isaac’s attack would have been fatal. If there had been multiple fighters who were that powerful, Pollux could have been easier to defeat than one likely expected.

The White Dragon Knights understood Calantha’s line of thinking, but they didn’t take it kindly.

“We barely survived, but you’re asking why we didn’t die?”

“It’s the Wickelines’ fault that the Divine Territory was so hard to clear! If people were killed and injured because of your mistake, you should apologize before anything else!”

“Please, show some respect to those who bled in your stead.”

No matter how bad Calantha was at reading the room, he knew he shouldn’t be brash toward a group of enraged swordsmen. Under pressure from three Transcendents, even an Archmage’s pride would shrink back.

He tried to explain himself, stumbling over his words. “I, well, it wasn’t a mistake on my part...”

It appeared that a general frustration with Calantha had built up within Isaac, because he stood back and let his men attack him for a while.

He eventually stepped between the two parties, trying to create space between them. “Enough. The Wickeline family is a strong ally, and we have spent generations fighting together against external enemies as brothers-in-arms. Show some respect.” n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

At their leader’s word, the three knights quietly bowed their heads and stepped back.

After making his men withdraw, Isaac turned to Calantha. “Don’t forget you must also show due respect. Were you intending to break centuries of friendship over some trivial insults?”

“I-I’m sorry. I was very thoughtless.” In a rare gesture of deference, he bowed at his hip.

People were already blaming the Wickelines for Pollux’s appearance, and if he hurled rude insults at members of the Cardenas family, he would cause an outrage that would not be fixed with a few apologetic letters.

He thanked his stars when Isaac accepted his apology.

“Please be a little more considerate next time. We tend to be quite short-tempered right after a mission.”

“I... will remember that. Once again, I apologize, everyone.”

The White Dragon Knights pretended to be won over and accepted his apology, so Calantha stepped onto his magic array as if nothing had happened.

He moved faster than usual.

Once he confirmed that all five knights were within range of the spell, he spoke the command.

“Multi Teleport!”

There was a familiar flash of light, and all six of them were transported far away.

* * *

The party appeared in the same spot they’d departed from, near the Forest of Swords. They quickly parted ways with Calathan and returned to the Ivory Forest, where there was a post for the White Dragon Knights.

Isaac and Leonard directly went to meet with Demian to report the circumstances and success of their mission.

The Commander was reading documents in his office. “Hm? You look worse than I expected,” he said, tilting his head. He pointed to the chair on the other side of his desk. “You two wouldn’t possibly struggle against the likes of Castor. Did something happen? There’s no need to rush, so please take your time to explain.”

“Understood.”

As the one in charge of the mission and the leader of the five knights, Isaac was the first to speak, relaying his experience in detail. He began with the moment they entered the Divine Territory and then explained how they defeated a herd of centaurs and discovered Castor while retracing their steps.

Up until that point, Demian quietly nodded along, but he was shocked when he heard that Castor had summoned his younger brother after being cornered.

“He summoned Pollux?!” he couldn’t help but shout.

“Yes. If it weren’t for Leonard, we would have died. Pollux wasn’t just summoned either. He even wielded Zeus’s lightning once.”

Demian knew that Isaac wasn’t exaggerating his report, so he thought for a moment then turned away. Of course, it was to look at Leonard.

“I don’t know about Pollux himself, but it’s strange how no one was killed after being hit by Zeus’s lightning. Leonard, did you use the technique you showed us last time to block it?”

During that four-on-one fight, the boy had used a special ability that absorbed the impact of an attack. Other than that, it would be impossible to block Zeus’s lightning.

As the Commander of the Order of the White Dragon, Demian knew all his subordinates’ strengths and weaknesses, including those of Isaac and the four other knights. He also knew that it wasn’t possible for them to have survived with their power alone.

Leonard seemed to have been waiting for the question. “It was close,” he answered honestly.

Zeus’s lightning had been so powerful that Leonard’s sword had melted after he cut through it with Rightful Return, which had an elemental advantage.

This explained why there were records of people dying while trying to fight Castor despite him being a low-ranking god. They weren’t ready to face a vassal Void Deity of a Chief God.

“We were lucky. If we didn’t add you to the team, I would have lost five men and never learned the reason,” Demian muttered as he added a few lines to his report.

Since Pollux had been summoned through Castor’s power, he’d disappeared not long after, so even if they sent a team to investigate, they never would have found out how the knights died.

They said knowledge was power, and how much the White Dragon Knights knew about the Void Deities they fought made a large difference.

Leonard pulled something out from his subspace pouch. “Commander, this was left behind when Pollux disappeared.”

“Hm? That’s his hand. If I recall correctly, his fists are an inherent part of his immortality. How did you cut it off?” Demian asked as he fiddled with the iron fist. Even he looked intrigued.

Based on his reaction, Leonard could surmise that Pollux had never left a hand behind. Otherwise, he wouldn’t seem so fascinated.

“I cut it off using the same skill I used to stop Zeus’s lightning. However, I only managed to cut through one hand, perhaps because my strength was lacking,” Leonard said.

“Ah,” Demian said, understanding. He asked a few more questions. “The battle would have been more difficult because his authority is over something material. While its use is limited, it makes the user physically stronger. If he had an authority that reinforced his fists only temporarily, you would have been able to cut off both of them.”

“Would it have been even harder if his authority had integrated with his body?”

“Of course. Since his body was already immortal, it would have been several times harder. However, opponents like Achilles who are physically invincible aside from one weak point would be more tedious to fight.”

A god’s authority naturally came with limitations relevant to their powers, but if those restrictions were weak or nonexistent, so became their power.

So, Pollux’s immortality made him strong and hard to kill, but that was all. On the other hand, Achilles’ invincibility made his entire body invulnerable, save for one spot on his heel.

“But, well, if you had a sure method of hitting Achilles’ weak point, Pollux would be harder to defeat. Every power has advantages and disadvantages,” Demian added.

For example, if they had an ally who was an especially accurate shot, a Void Deity with a specific weak point would not be a difficult opponent.

Conversely, for a Void Deity such as Pollux, whose entire body was reinforced and didn’t have a vital point, they would need enough destructive power to completely pulverize him, or overwhelming speed. Squad 3 hadn’t had that.

Once Demian finished his explanation, he put down the iron hand. “This is your trophy, so you may do with it as you see fit. Seeing as you brought it to me, I assume you don’t know what it’s used for?”

“I heard from Sir Isaac that it can be used to create armor or a sword, or be exchanged for a few artifacts,” he replied.

“What? So you do know. In the case of the former, it would have to be sent to the Jehoia family, which you cannot do yourself. If you wish to sell it to the Wickelines, just make sure you don’t get scammed. And if you need someone to help you negotiate, you can take Isaac with—”

“In that case, I would like this to be made into a sword,” Leonard blurted out immediately. Both Demian and Isaac looked at him blankly for a moment before smiling. They felt a sense of kinship as fellow swordsmen.

The Commander then handed the iron fist to his subordinate as he said, “Send this to the Jehoia family under my name. Tell them that they can keep the leftover material as payment once they finish making it.”

“Yes, sir.”

Isaac took the item and left the Commander’s office, leaving Leonard by himself. Leonard blinked.

Demian finished drafting up the report and placed it inside his drawer. He turned to look at the boy. He had something to tell him about the upcoming days.

“I plan to give you and Squad 3 a break for about a month due to what you all went through with Pollux. It will also take about that long for the Jehoia family to finish forging your sword.”

“I understand.”

“However, we have received a request for support from the Order of the Black Dragon.”

Leonard tensed at the mention of them.

The Order of the Black Dragon was the one in charge of exterminating Demoniacs.

Demoniacs were beings vaguely similar to the demons of the Central Plains, and they were hostile creatures that crawled up from the depths of the underground. This was all he was ever told, so naturally, his ears perked up when Demian spoke.

“They requested a force equal to the strength of one Commander, so it should not be an urgent matter. It is likely that they simply need reserve troops or auxiliary troops equipped for emergencies. So, I was planning to go alone...” Just as he was about to ask Leonard what he wanted to do, he suddenly burst into laughter. “...Ha. Seeing your face, I don’t think I need to say anything more.”

Leonard was unbelievably exhausted after the fight with Pollux, but the excitement of facing a new kind of enemy began to burn inside him.

It didn’t take a Dragon Eye Awakener to see his eagerness. Demian walked over to the bookcase and picked out a few volumes. They weren’t books that one would typically find among the White Dragon Knights, but those at the rank of Captain and higher could be assigned to another knightly order at any time, so they had to know each other’s specialties.

“This should be more than enough for you to gain basic knowledge about Demoniacs. In two weeks’ time, we will depart for the base that sent out a request for assistance, so until then, acquaint yourself with these books,” Demian advised.

“Understood.”

“Go back and rest. And don’t push yourself, since you’ll have to be fully recovered within two weeks.”

“Yes, sir.”

Leonard left the office, hugging the books to his chest. He wanted to read them right now so badly that all ten of his fingers were twitching. With curiosity and fighting spirit blazing in his eyes, the fatigue of the near-lethal fight disappeared completely.

The Order of the Black Dragon. Demoniacs.

Those two were the only things running through his mind.