The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Chapter 85

It was a fact easy to forget, but Elise had consumed Joseph’s Hwandan and possessed mana at the level of a Grandmaster.

Thanks to that, she had the strength that could make even a grown man struggle, and the Cerberus Guild had not dared to imprison her.

However, when she awakened as a Saint, that mana merged with her Holy Power.

Moreover, the amount of Holy Power she gained upon awakening was the largest among all the Saints in history.

Upon confirming this, Aden thought of one possibility.

‘What would happen if she used martial arts based on Holy Power?’

The result was unfolding before his eyes.

“Hiya, yap!”

Bang, bang!

Wherever Elise’s fists landed, the rabbit ghouls exploded.

Amazingly, Elise’s Holy Power, merged with mana, could replace it to enhance her body.

At the same time, the characteristic of Holy Power remained, making her the best opponent for the undead.

‘Usually, priests of the three major Holy Orders use Holy spells for combat.’

There were many cases of using Holy Power directly in battle.

But that was through Holy spells, enhancing the body and increasing speed through divine miracles.

Martial arts were used separately, and Holy spells were used separately.

In contrast, the method Elise used was applying Holy Power to martial arts.

It was more immediate, intuitive, and allowed for a very fast response.

Naturally, it was far more efficient in combat.

‘I understand why no one knew about this until now.’

To use martial arts with Holy Power, one had to first open the mana core and learn to fight using mana.

However, those who possessed Holy Power usually couldn’t accumulate mana to learn martial arts, and vice versa, those who learned martial arts couldn’t accumulate Holy Power to use Holy spells.

This was only possible for a candidate for sainthood of the Sacred Fire Order before awakening, specifically a Holy Mark bearer who had no Holy Power before awakening.

But why would a Holy Mark bearer accumulate mana before awakening?

The mana would disappear after awakening anyway.

Instead, they would have focused on increasing their faith and accumulating Holy Power.

Naturally, no one would have realized this method.

As she continued her training, Elise gradually increased the number of rabbit ghouls she faced.

The more rabbit ghouls she defeated, the more accomplishment Elise felt, and her hesitation disappeared.

“You bad rabbit!”

– Kyuut!

She faced five at once.

“Humans are not carrots!”

– Kyuut!

She fought ten at once.

“Bad rabbits, disappear!”

– Kyuut!

She slaughtered the rabbit ghouls, surrounded by fifteen of them.

“Wait a moment…”

Aden shook his head and looked again. Something seemed off.

Curs asked Aden.

– Doesn’t that young Saint get tired? She’s going wild.

“…Indeed.”

Aden’s expression became more and more complex.

Elise, having defeated nearly forty rabbit ghouls, showed no signs of exhaustion.

On the contrary, she seemed more energetic as time passed.

– Kyuut!

– Kyuuut!

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

The screams and explosions of the rabbit ghouls echoed almost like festival fireworks.

Humans were at a disadvantage when fighting against many opponents.

No matter how strong one was, attacks coming from all directions couldn’t be fully blocked.

However, Elise’s movements dodged attacks even when surrounded and defeated them one-sidedly.

As if she was specialized in fighting against multiple opponents.

Then, Aden realized something important.

‘I taught Elise martial arts.’

Aden had casually taught her combat techniques for fun.

But he was quite proficient in martial arts due to his extensive experience.

Moreover, when teaching Elise, Aden based his instruction on the best martial artist he knew.

That person was…

“The Iron-Blooded Saint…”

Aden had a bitter expression and rubbed his forehead.

What was the pinnacle of winning against multiple opponents?

It was slaughter.

Since he had taught her the martial arts of the group that revered slaughter, it was natural that she was specialized in fighting against many.

Moreover, Elise’s amount of Holy Power was close to a master’s level in absolute terms.

Even if her martial arts skill level was low, she could practically exert the power of a master.

“Hiya!”

With Elise’s holy-powered fists and kicks, the ghouls’ jaws shattered and their front teeth splintered into dozens of pieces, flying through the air.

The image of a Saint overwhelming multiple enemies with divine power.

In that aspect, Aden felt an uncanny familiarity.

‘Damn, what is this? It’s like a minor version of the Iron-Blooded Saint.’

Elise, filled with excitement, was blowing up the ghouls one after another, conducting a massacre of the rabbits.

Then she shouted with a bright smile.

“Come at me! All of you rotten rabbits! Hehe!”

“…”

Aden felt inexplicably that he had made a significant mistake.

—

After some time passed, Elise had finally defeated nearly half of the rabbit ghouls by herself.

Priest Bali laughed heartily.

“As expected of the Saint! Truly remarkable! Ah, if only the brothers of the Order could see this!”

Elise, covered in sweat, smiled brightly while catching her breath.

“Thank you, Uncle Bali! Hehe! Brother Aden, that was fun! I want to train hard from now on!”

“…Well, that’s good to hear.”

Elise, smiling cutely despite being covered in ghoul ashes, seemed a bit unfamiliar.

However, it was a good thing she wasn’t afraid of battle and was enthusiastic.

### Chapter 85

‘Come to think of it, didn’t she start throwing punches as soon as she came out of solitary confinement at Cerberus?’

It seemed she had a naturally combative disposition.

“Still, let’s call it a day and rest. We’ll handle the next part.”

They hadn’t yet entered the cave leading to the boss room.

After a brief rest, Aden and his party entered the second cave, which was the boss room.

Every dungeon had a boss.

It was the dungeon core’s duty to select a guardian to protect the core and establish the dungeon.

A larger cavern than before appeared, and the boss monster greeted Aden’s party.

– Kyuoooooooo!

A massive mutated rabbit ghoul, three meters tall, exuded an aura that could even devour a tiger.

The giant mutated rabbit ghoul glared at the humans who had invaded its nest.

Priest Bali clapped his hands, his face lighting up.

“Yes! This is the rabbit I know!”

“Priest Bali, are you from some legendary land of giants?”

It was just a casual remark, but somehow, looking at Priest Bali’s huge frame, it seemed quite plausible.

“Haha! No, it’s just that I come from the Kingdom of Drathia.”

The Kingdom of Drathia, ruled by a clan that claimed to be descendants of dragons.

It was said that all the rabbits in that area were this size.

Moreover, they were carnivorous and very aggressive, causing headaches with annual extermination efforts.

Lowe’s expression turned somewhat complex.

“Lord Aden, at that size, isn’t it no longer a rabbit but an entirely different creature?”

“Indeed.”

– Kyurururuuuk…!

As Aden exchanged trivial conversation with Priest Bali, the giant rabbit ghoul’s brows furrowed menacingly.

With its large size, the boss monster had a more distinct sense of self than other rabbit ghouls.

It couldn’t understand what they were saying, but it knew they were completely ignoring it.

– Kyugyuuuuut!

Enraged, the giant rabbit ghoul charged at them.

As the giant rabbit ghoul swung its bear-sized paw, aiming to shred Aden with its long claws.

“Well, there’s no need to train here any longer, so let’s quickly defeat the boss and rest.”

Aden rolled to the side, dodging its strike.

Thud!

At the same time, he stepped on its forepaw, leaping instantly to its head.

– Kyururk?

The rabbit ghoul was momentarily flustered by Aden’s unexpected agility, and in that moment, Aden, in midair, fixed his gaze on the rabbit ghoul’s nape.

‘Now.’

He drew Baalzebul, extending an aura thread instantly and swung it.

Shiiiiik.

In an instant, the blue aura of the blade flashed…

Swoosh…!

Like a prisoner at the guillotine, the giant rabbit ghoul’s body and head separated cleanly.

The rabbit’s head, with a bewildered expression, rolled on the ground, not yet realizing it had met its end.

Thud!

The body, having lost its head, soon collapsed to the side.

Aden landed safely on the carcass.

The battle time was barely three seconds.

Despite being the boss monster, it was easily taken down by Aden’s single strike.

“My gosh, even if Aden is a semi-master…”

“Wow! That was awesome, Brother Aden!”

“You were amazing, Lord Aden.”

Priest Bali was astonished, Elise was impressed, and Lowe showed respect.

Compared to the giant monsters Aden had faced during the battle with Talos, this giant rabbit was no different from an ordinary cute rabbit to him.

However, even now, Aden reflected on his swordsmanship.

‘Since learning the new mana cultivation technique, both my power and operational abilities have greatly increased.’

Before mastering the cultivation technique, it would have taken him tens of seconds to defeat this giant rabbit ghoul.

He realized anew that he had gained a significant opportunity.

As he sheathed his sword, he spoke.

“Alright, let’s finish up here and head out.”

It was now time for treasure hunting.

Elise, looking inside the giant rabbit ghoul’s nest, exclaimed.

“Wow! It’s full of stuff here!”

There were gold coins, armor, weapons, and various other items.

They were probably the belongings of those who had fallen in the dungeon.

“Items obtained from the dungeon rightfully belong to the dungeon conquerors. So all of these are ours.”

The condition for conquering the rabbit nest dungeon was to exterminate all the rabbit ghouls inside.

Having defeated the last remaining monster, the giant rabbit ghoul, Aden also discovered the hidden dungeon core.

It was to sell it to the Rabbits.

– You really are draining every bit from the rabbits. Couldn’t you just let go of the core?

‘What nonsense? Why would I?’

For a spirit merchant, the most important acquisition was the dungeon core.

Securing that alone allowed for ample negotiation, so why give it up?

Aden looked at the core emitting strong magical energy and contemplated.

‘Hmm, how much can I rip off this time?’

– Your character shines as always, Dragon Slayer.

Curs was exasperated by Aden’s twisted mindset.

After a moment, he summoned the spirit merchant Rabbits.

Thanks to the seal received from his exclusive contract with Rabbits, Aden could summon him anytime.

– Greetings! Your friendly spirit merchant…!

“Ah! Another rabbit!”

– Huh? Aaaaaah! Mommy…?

“Begone, you rotten rabbit…!”

Mistaking the spirit merchant for a monster, Elise, startled, threw a punch, narrowly missing Rabbits’ face imbued with holy power.

Despite a slight unexpected mishap, the rabbit nest dungeon was thus successfully conquered.