The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Chapter 93

The released chimeras immediately charged at the warlocks, and none of them attacked Aden.

Even though they had lost their reason, there was something they could never forget.

It was their hatred toward the warlocks.

The rage and murderous intent they felt towards the warlocks who had turned them into this state and used them as experimental tools were deeply engraved in their bones.

To them, Aden was irrelevant; they were busy rushing to kill the warlocks.

Aden also destroyed the cages containing monsters, releasing them towards the warlocks.

“Grrrr!”

“Roar!”

“Krraaak!”

These creatures, too, harbored intense murderous intent toward the warlocks.

The humans turned into chimeras, the experimented monsters, and the warlocks were all entangled in chaos.

The monsters and chimeras that fell victim to the warlocks’ dark magic screamed and perished everywhere.

However, even as failures, the chimeras possessed monster traits that exceeded human limits, demonstrating regenerative power, superhuman strength, and toughness.

One chimera ripped off a warlock’s limbs with brute strength, another charged while withstanding dark magic and sank its fangs into a warlock’s throat.

Some chimeras pierced bodies with their spikes, turning people into lumps of meat, or spat out highly acidic venom that melted a warlock’s face to death.

It was utter pandemonium.

Aden moved through the chaos, dealing with the warlocks one by one.

“Ugh!”

“Aaaargh!”

Thanks to the ‘Master Assassin’ title he had obtained after killing the black knight, Aden could precisely hide his presence, making it difficult for anyone to stop him amidst the chaos.

“Dark Flame!”

Some warlocks tried to attack Aden first…

Swish!

But their dark magic was cut down by Aden’s sword, their heads pierced through.

As defeat became inevitable, escape attempts began.

“Damn, we need to run!”

“I want to live!”

Some of the more cowardly warlocks tried to flee through the entrance.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

But Aden had no intention of letting them escape so easily.

“Wraith Subjugation, High Troll Shaman, Mephisto Summon.”

-Wraiths are being summoned.

Aden expended mana and dark energy to summon the High Troll and Talos Mephisto.

“Stop all those trying to escape.”

-Gahatar…

-We obey your command, my lord!

The sudden appearance of high-ranking wraiths shocked the warlocks.

“Th-Those are…!”

“Why are wraiths here…!”

And not just any wraiths, but ones with legendary strength.

Where had such beings come from!

Mephisto, now Aden’s loyal servant, sneered at the warlocks and declared,

-Kuhk, you fools! No one leaves here alive!

The two summoned by Aden were among the strongest of his wraiths.

None of the warlocks had the skill to overcome such powerful beings.

This was their end.

Just as there was nothing more to see, it happened.

“…!”

Sensing a rapidly approaching presence, Aden reflexively swung his sword.

With a ‘clang’ sound, the Aura Threads aiming for Aden’s neck were blocked.

But he couldn’t completely block them, and his helmet split and fell to the ground with a thud.

‘This is, Aura Threads?’

Currently, there was only one other person here who could use Aura Threads besides Aden.

As expected, the one who had launched the Aura Threads, ‘Tallin Umbra’, stepped forward.

His face was twisted with anger.

“You, you’re not the black knight after all. I’ve been fooled royally.”

“…How are you still alive?”

He had certainly suffered a nearly fatal wound.

Unless healed immediately by the holy power of a saint or saintess, it wasn’t a wound he should have been able to survive, especially not in such a perfect condition.

Yet, there was no visible wound on his abdomen where Aden had cut him, only bloodstains.

Tallin Umbra’s face twisted into a sinister smile filled with murderous intent.

Suddenly, he cut his own arm with his sword.

Blood gushed from his forearm.

Sizzle.

But just a few seconds after the wound was inflicted, the flesh reattached itself, returning to its original state.

This was a ridiculous regenerative ability that could never be seen in a human.

Aden’s eyes narrowed.

“You, did you implant monster genes into your body?”

“As you can see. It would be a waste not to harness such a powerful force.”

Things had gotten rather troublesome.

Who would have thought that a guild master, who was a semi-master, would turn himself into a chimera.

“You were already strong enough, so why?”

“Because it wasn’t enough to satisfy me.”

He had no intention of being content with merely high-level sword aura.

He wanted to reach higher realms, and his greed for power was insatiable.

Yet, he lamented the reality that he couldn’t surpass the limits of his talent with high-level sword aura.

Tallin Umbra briefly sank into his thoughts.

‘Marcus Maedala, that fool.’

While Tallin couldn’t surpass the wall due to the limits of his talent, the Maedala guild master had the opportunity to do so if he tried hard enough.

However, simply because he had a family, he gave up that chance and settled, even though just a little more effort would have allowed him to surpass that wall.

Tallin Umbra couldn’t accept Marcus, who was superior to him yet was so complacent.

His jealousy and inferiority turned into hatred.

His desire for power led him to abandon his humanity.

“What’s wrong with being a chimera? Thanks to it, I saved my life.”

Murderous intent radiated from his body.

“But you’re finished now.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Tell me where you came from while I’m still asking nicely. Then I’ll kill you with less pain.”

Tallin smiled arrogantly.

“Soon, my subordinates from above will swarm in here. Even if you are a semi-master like me, you won’t be able to handle me with the power of a monster and hundreds of guild members.”

Hundreds of Umbra guild members, led by a semi-master turned chimera.

Certainly, if such a crowd swarmed in, even Aden wouldn’t be safe.

“Go ahead.”

“…What?”

“Do whatever you want, if you can.”

Instead, Aden calmly urged him to try whatever he wished.

Was he bluffing?

Just as the Umbra guild master frowned in thought, his communication artifact crystal started glowing and vibrating.

It was a direct line connected to his vice-guild master, Jackson.

“It seems important. You should take it. I won’t interfere.”

Aden, with a nonchalant attitude, urged him to answer it. Though frowning, Tallin picked up the crystal.

“Guild master, guild master!”

“Jackson, it’s me.”

“Guild master! We’re in big trouble!”

Jackson’s voice was filled with terror.

Behind him, the sounds of metal clashing, explosions, shouts, and screams could be heard.

“What’s happening…”

“We’re under attack! The Maedala guild is going crazy!”

“…What?”

“The Maedala guild master, Marcus himself is leading the attack! We can’t hold them off! At this rate, the guild will— Aaaah!”

With a final scream, the crystal’s light went out.

Tallin frantically tried to reconnect, but it was useless.

His face hardened.

The Maedala guild attacking?

The group that avoided full-scale conflict due to equal strength, suddenly launching an attack?

“…!”

Suddenly, Tallin turned to look at Aden.

“Is something wrong?”

A detestable smile spread across Aden’s face.

He had already coordinated with the Maedala guild master.

They had agreed to launch an all-out attack on the Umbra guild once a certain time had passed.

Aside from the Umbra guild master, the rest consisted of about ten high-level sword aura warriors, dozens of mid-level ones, and fifty low-level ones.

That alone was a considerable force, comparable to any large knight order. But with the quick sword mercenary and his guild members involved, it was meaningless.

Marcus’s rage, fueled by his daughter’s life being toyed with, was overwhelming even for Aden.

By now, Marcus was likely venting his anger by tearing apart the guild building above, which lacked its master.

Tallin’s composure completely vanished from his face.

“Y-You damned bastard!”

Finally realizing he had been outwitted, Tallin erupted in fury.

Only then did he understand everything.

Aden had teamed up with the Maedala Guild, realizing what was happening and what his enemies were doing.

‘I need to kill him and get out of here immediately!’

If he wasted any more time here, the guild would be finished.

No, the moment their activities were exposed, it was already over.

If they didn’t manage this perfectly, Syres would surely sever ties with them.

“I’ll kill you… I’ll cut you up into pieces…”

Tallin muttered through gritted teeth, his bloodshot eyes losing focus.

Aura surged from his body, mixed with killing intent.

Perhaps due to becoming a chimera, his murderous intent was wild and beastly.

Crunch.

His arm swelled grotesquely, muscles bulging as if about to burst.

Shing!

The aura thread he launched in a surprise attack grazed Aden’s cheek.

Slash!

A long, thread-like cut remained on the ground where the aura thread had passed.

‘Fast.’

Even though it was a straightforward, brute-force attack, he couldn’t completely evade it.

The power and speed of the aura thread were formidable.

It was almost at the level of a Sword Master.

‘It seems he didn’t become a chimera just for show.’

Tallin’s thighs swelled as if they were about to burst, and he pushed off the ground with tremendous force.

Boom!

The ground caved in as he instantly closed the distance to Aden, swinging his sword.

Aden parried the strike.

Their auras clashed several times.

‘In terms of overall physical abilities, he is superior.’

When he swung his sword, it was with ogre-like strength.

Even when wounded, he healed with troll-like regeneration.

His senses were sharp and swift, like a seasoned werewolf.

Tallin’s body, having integrated various monster traits, was monstrous despite its human appearance.

His enhanced physical abilities allowed him to wield near-master level power, pushing Aden.

‘Foolish.’

Yet, Aden couldn’t help but feel disappointed by his opponent.

Doing anything to become stronger?

Aden agreed with that.

But the method was wrong.

That was not a blessing, but a curse.

‘To become a Sword Master, one must unite body, mind, and technique.’

But Tallin’s form only maximized physical potential while discarding all other possibilities.

Since he wouldn’t die from a cut, he’d let himself get hit.

Even without honing his swordsmanship, he could rely on brute strength.

Such complacency led to laziness, and laziness led to the decline of skill.

How could there be any advancement in such a corrupted state? It was like undoing all the progress he had ever made.

Shing!

Tallin’s sword was fierce and powerful like a beast’s, but it lacked substance. The essence of swordsmanship, which a semi-master should have possessed, had crumbled entirely.

What else could he be but a beast?

It wasn’t even worth using his berserk ability.

‘I’ll show you a real sword.’

Aden decided to show him what he had forsaken.

The sword wielded by one who had cut down a dragon.

A technique developed to cut through the toughest dragon scales.

Aden’s sword, Baalzebul, pulsed rapidly with aura.

He felt and controlled the resonance, the vibrations of the aura.

A hundred echoes overlapped.

A thousand reverberations shook.

Ten thousand cries of the sword roared.

As the waves of aura overlapped extremely, Baalzebul’s blade turned red and emitted a low growl.

Grrrr…

A chilling, eerie sound, like the cry of a dragon.

Whoosh!

Aden’s blue sword aura blazed into a red light, resembling the burning breath of a dragon.

He dodged the pouring aura with quick movements, closing in on Tallin.

‘Dragon Slayer Sword Technique, Scale Breaker.’

From a vanished future, the strike that shattered a dragon’s reverse scale surged forward.

When Tallin’s sword and Aden’s sword collided.

Baalzebul, imbued with the dragon’s breath, bit into Tallin’s sword.

Crash!

His sword shattered into pieces.

“Arrrrgh!”

The scream of Tallin Umbra, the leader of the Umbra Guild, echoed.