My Reflector Is Invincible

26. True Reward

Crackle, crackle!

In an instant, electricity burst out of Jooyeon’s body.

It was the power of the Divine Water, capable of wide-area attacks as well as personal attacks.

The hundred knights realized it right away.

“Is… is that ＜Azure Lightning＞?”

“How is it possible for anyone other than the late Duke to use the shield’s power?”

“That doesn’t matter right now. Run!”

“Get the people out of here first!”

The knights hurriedly retreated.

They didn’t forget to take the attendants with them.

The Duke was dragged away with them.

The Knight King’s lips curled up at the sight.

“Can you really use the shield’s power…?”

He looked amused.

Then he simply nodded, as if he had no intention of dodging.

Jooin extended the shield forward.

‘This is a precious top-grade sapphire. If you don’t do your job properly, I’ll melt you down in lava.’

Rumble.

It was a bluff, hoping that the Knight King, who was once his master, would go easy on him.

Fortunately, the bluff worked.

The shield unleashed Azure Lightning at full power.

Boom!!

A great number of lightning bolts converged from all directions to a single point.

The firepower was so immense that it melted a part of Duke Castle, which was reinforced with a magic barrier.

Bayner, who had been lying on the ground, regained consciousness from the loud noise.

“Did… did you defeat him?”

“How dare you… be so disrespectful to the late Duke.”

Bam!

Bayner was hit by a knight and fainted again.

Jooin smirked.

‘Why did he have to use the magic word?’

Wasn’t it the strongest resurrection spell ever?

It didn’t matter to him anyway.

The attack he had just launched wasn’t meant to kill his opponent.

He could tell just by looking at the Knight King emerging from the dust, waving his hand.

‘He’s still intact.’

Was it because of the magic spell?

He didn’t even have a scratch, let alone any dust on him.

It was unbelievable.

‘Damn… How much stronger has he become?’

The Knight King was even barehanded.

A shield knight without a shield has less than half the defense power.

Even if he was the master of the shield, how could he be unharmed after taking a full-power Azure Lightning with less than half of his usual defense power?

Is his body made of vibranium or something?

That’s how I felt.

But now was not the time to worry about that.

“He’s coming!”

＜[Crisis Perception]……＞

Before the words even appeared, my body moved first.

Joo-Yeon’s head quickly turned to the side.

BAM

A huge shockwave exploded next to his head.

The Knight King, who was far away, had just punched and shattered space.

The shockwave alone, even though it didn’t hit him directly, was enough to twist his body.

He’s not only fine after getting hit by ＜Blue Lightning＞, but he’s also counterattacking.

‘And he’s shattering space from that distance?’

What kind of divine power is that?

What the hell is his body made of?

If he had been hit directly, he wouldn’t just be in danger; he might have actually died.

‘I would have been in big trouble if I hadn’t used Leap in advance.’

That’s how dangerous that attack was.

There was a reason he couldn’t use ＜Reflect＞.

I didn’t even think about using it in the first place.

‘My body moved before my mind could even think.’

It was partly because his body wasn’t fully used to it yet, but it was also because his years of gaming experience had warned him first.

That he didn’t even have time to use ＜Reflect＞.

That he would die if he didn’t dodge quickly.

Fortunately, he was able to dodge it by recognizing the Knight King’s unique movement just before he attacked.

No, actually, he didn’t dodge it.

‘I predicted it and moved in advance.’

He just saw the unique movement and moved before the attack came.

But is this enough?

THUD!

The Knight King stomped on the ground hard and threw a punch.

The next attack was already coming.

‘I can’t dodge this time.’

Last time, he was able to dodge because of a combination of luck and coincidence.

If he had ＜Physical Enhancement＞, he would have been able to at least try to follow the Knight King’s movements, but it was currently on cooldown.

The Knight King was too fast for Joo-Yeon’s current enhanced physical abilities to keep up with.

But this time was different.

‘＜Reflect＞ should be enough this time.’

If he tried to see more of his skills, he might actually die.

Joo-Yeon quickly activated ＜Reflect＞.

The Knight King’s fist shot towards him again.

BAM!

A huge explosion erupted between Jooyeon and the Knight King, accompanied by a deafening sound.

A cloud of dust rose within the Duke’s office.

But what the hell.

Thud.

Both Jooyeon, who blocked the Knight King’s attack, and the Knight King, who was hit by Jooyeon’s ＜Reflection＞, were completely unscathed.

Jooyeon had deflected the Knight King’s fist with ＜Reflection＞, but it wasn’t enough to penetrate the Knight King’s defense.

So, it seemed that neither of them had taken any damage.

The knights’ eyes widened in surprise.

“What the hell… what happened?”

“He dodged that? Not only that, he even counterattacked the Knight King’s second attack?”

“The先代 Duke’s fist definitely hit [him]… how can he be unharmed?”

The two people who had just exchanged blows had calm expressions on their faces.

Jooyeon’s face, in particular, was calm.

‘Looks like there’s been a change that I don’t know about.’

The先代 Duke, no, the current Knight King, was stronger than Jooyeon remembered.

The proof was in the aura and strength he felt from him, which far surpassed the past.

‘If he’s this strong… I can definitely use him.’

This was an extremely beneficial situation for Jooyeon.

Since he would die if he failed to achieve his achievements, any useful ally was always welcome.

And if he could get that bastard on his side, he would gain recognition from the knight classes.

That would make it easier for him to handle them.

That’s what Jooyeon was thinking with a smirk on his face.

Then the Knight King’s voice rang out.

“Your hands are quite fierce.”

“I had to check it out.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Whether you’re the person I’ve been looking for.”

The conversation between the two was incredibly calm.

It was so calm that it was hard to believe that a fierce battle had just taken place.

Only Duke Edmer’s eyes flashed.

‘Yes. Keep being so impudent.’

The Duke knew the Knight King very well.

He was a knight who despised insolence.

He wouldn’t just stand by and watch Jooyeon’s continued insolence.

‘There’s no way he’ll forgive that crazy bastard who dared to impudently counterattack the Knight King’s attack.’

Most people were thrilled and overwhelmed with emotion when they crossed hands with the Knight King.

The pinnacle of all knights on the continent.

Just crossing hands with him was like an honor in itself.

He would never dare to commit the impiety of attacking his body.

“Soon, I’ll be able to see the scene where that bastard’s head is cut off.”

But contrary to the Duke’s thoughts, the expression on the Sword King’s face was too warm.

He was looking at Joo-hyeon with warm eyes.

“So, you were the one I was looking for?”

“Yes, that’s right. I think it’s that person. No, maybe even better?”

“That’s good. Both you and I were able to find the people we were looking for.”

…What the hell is this ending?

The Duke averted his eyes at the Sword King’s friendly voice.

He couldn’t believe the gentle smile of his father, no, the former Duke, that he was seeing now.

And that wasn’t all.

“You were eating something delicious. Can I eat with you?”

“Yes. There’s a lot of food, so let’s eat together.”

That was originally our family’s food, Father.

That bastard is the guest!

The Duke felt his insides burning as he watched the two of them sitting across from each other, eating.

The people around them were just as surprised.

In particular, the 100 knights were having a hard time even speaking properly.

“The former Duke is eating?”

“He hasn’t eaten with his family for several years?”

Just who is [he]?

Their eyes reflected their inability to understand why the Sword King was treating him with such great hospitality.

Soon, the others went into a frenzy over the former Duke’s actions.

“The former Duke is eating with a guest! Everyone, bring out the food with all your might!”

“The best… The one-of-a-kind food that can only be eaten today!”

The finest ingredients met with the best chefs.

It could no longer be called ordinary food.

Joo-hyeon put a large amount of food on his fork and put it in his mouth.

‘This is practically an elixir.’

He felt his body getting stronger with each bite.

In addition to the temporary strengthening effect that came from eating food, there was also a permanent buff effect.

Words were engraved on his shield.

＜Consumed an elixir +40＞

＜Consumed a very special elixir +60＞

＜Acquired a permanent strengthening effect +10＞

＜Tasted the food of unwavering determination +33＞

It wasn’t just the buffs and achievements.

The special feature of the ‘Valentino Saga’.

That was, consuming special food would allow him to gain experience separately.

Eating food that was of elixir-grade or higher allowed him to grow.

However, there were also accomplishments that were unrelated to food.

＜Succeeded in counterattack against the continent’s strongest +100＞

＜Received recognition from the continent’s strongest +300＞

＜Survived against the continent’s strongest +500＞

Even a fight with the Sword King, the former Duke Edmer, was recognized.

The corners of Joo-Yeon’s mouth turned up without him realizing.

‘I have a lot of accomplishments to use. I’ll have to lose often.’

Of course, he didn’t miss the Duke, who was trying to leave his seat while doing so.

‘He seems to be giving orders to a servant and trying to get out.’

As expected, he must be trying to ask questions by scheming again.

Joo-Yeon, who confirmed this, opened his mouth toward the former Duke as if he had thought of something.

“Oh, by the way, I had a little trouble getting here. I almost couldn’t meet you.”

“You almost couldn’t meet me? Why?”

“Your son told me to get lost. He said that a slave like me isn’t qualified to meet the great Sword King.”

“……!?”

A tremendous silence fell for a moment.

No matter how much of a Duke he is. How dare he try to turn away the former Duke’s guest, not to mention anyone else.

In particular, a voice even came out from among the 100 knights.

“Do you know how much the former Duke has been waiting for [him]….”

“Get lost? Was that really the young master’s intention?”

The Duke’s face turned pale.

The 100 knights asked Joo-Yeon with hardened faces.

“You told [him] to get lost, so what did you say you would give him in return?”

“He roughly said that I should get lost after receiving a small bag filled with money and a letter of recommendation for a knight.”

The knights’ eyebrows shot up.

There was no way their lord could be such a petty person.

They asked again just in case.

“Only…… that?”

“Well. I think he also said he would give me a country estate if needed.”

“The lord said he would give you a country estate that is usually given to retired knights, not a city or a castle?”

A grinding sound was heard among the knights.

“Even if he is the former Duke’s son….”

“Only a letter of recommendation and an estate? The lord of the Edmer family, not just any other family?”

It was too petty, even for a small bowl.

The conditions set by the lord of the Edmer family, who even the Emperor of the Empire couldn’t handle recklessly, were only that much.

No matter how much the former Duke’s son he is, it was too pathetic.

The Duke opened his mouth in a hurry.

“Everyone, you’re misunderstanding. I was just making a choice for my father, no, the former Duke, and the family….”

They were just the right amount of money for a lowly slave.

It wasn’t even worth spending money on.

However, he couldn’t finish his excuse.

It was because the Knight King was glaring at him with cold eyes and immense momentum.

Thud!

The Duke ended up slamming his head on the ground.

Such tremendous momentum made it hard to even breathe.

“Pathetic fool.”

The Knight King stood up while wiping his mouth with a handkerchief.

“I will temporarily strip you of your position as the head of the house. Throw him in jail until his official punishment.”

“My predecessor Duke, no, Father!”

“If you are at a level where you can’t even see ‘his’ true nature… You are not qualified to lead the Edmer Dukedom. If what he said is true, I will take back everything I have given you.”

“……!?”

The Knight King’s eyes were cold.

It wasn’t just because of the matter regarding the main character.

The one who was collapsed outside was a street magician he despised.

He heard that he was the aide of the Duke, his son.

To bring such a man into the family.

He couldn’t tolerate his son who tarnished the family’s name any longer.

The Duke who received his gaze felt like he was falling off a cliff.

What made him feel the worst wasn’t the Knight King’s eyes calling him pathetic.

‘It’s all because of that… That guy.’

The main character’s eyes looking at him.

He was clicking his tongue as if asking why he had to bother him.

However, the Duke couldn’t bring himself to attack him.

Clang!

Along with the loss of his position as the head of the house, the knights’ swords were pointed at him.

A hundred knights escorted him as if they were taking him somewhere.

The Duke lost everything along with his father’s cold gaze whom he had respected the most in the world.

‘Just because of… A mere slave….’

The main character’s gaze looking at such a Duke was extremely cold.

‘He still hasn’t come to his senses.’

Who told him to touch him?

He should have just quietly guided him to the Knight King.

At least, he wouldn’t have ended up like this.

‘And to be honest, if the reward was something decent, I would have just let it go.’

But what was that condition?

Moreover, if he had accepted it, he wouldn’t have just been kicked out.

There was murderous intent in his eyes.

‘He could have sent assassins. And he wouldn’t have given up until I died.’

From the very beginning, he almost made two powerful families his enemies.

I declined the bad ending of dying without even seeing the Demon King’s face.

‘Now, then. Shall we get to the real reward?’

This was the real deal.

The dukedom was just a way to announce his presence with a small revenge anyway.

‘This should make the halfwits avoid me for the time being.’

＜Reflect＞ was certainly fraudulent, but his body would still be destroyed by a single blow that could not be reflected yet.

‘The safest thing is to not have to use Reflect.’

He just had to raise his physical abilities in the meantime.

That was why he had to achieve his goal before the Knight King’s favor disappeared.

“Now then, let’s talk about the really important things.”

“Yes. I also had something to give you.”

Edmer, the former duke.

No, the corners of Joo-in’s lips curled up at the words of his past comrade, the [Knight King].