Child of Destiny

Bang! Bang!

A massive desert worm crashed to the ground after being bombarded by powerful shots from Alucard.

”Not bad~! The experience these monsters give is pretty decent,” he said as he blew the smoke from the muzzles of his magic pistols.

Spinning the pistols around his fingers, Alucard smoothly holstered them before surveying his surroundings.

The area around him was filled with numerous desert worm corpses, all of which had died in much the same fashion.

He merely shrugged before turning his attention toward the other parts of the battlefield.

On one side of the battlefield, Diablo sat atop a pile of desert worm corpses while casually playing with his dagger. At times, he would toss it into the air before catching it again or skillfully spin it between his fingers.

A little farther away, Owen was cleaning his shield while surrounded by numerous monster corpses.

From time to time, he also spoke with Samael, teaching the rookie Paladin a few tricks for defending against massive monsters. He also gave him pointers on how to deal with the environmental conditions when fighting such creatures.

Samael, on the other hand, listened attentively, taking in as much information as he could—especially after experiencing firsthand the terror of the desert worms.

Felix and Felicia’s battlefield was in a similar state.

The twins hadn’t showcased much of their abilities, but their achievements were no less impressive than those of the more monstrous members of the Empyrean Talons.

Meanwhile, the colossal body of an even larger desert worm lay a short distance away.

Its terrifying body was nearly fifty meters tall, while the full length of its body was impossible to determine since most of it was still buried deep beneath the sand.

However, it was obvious that the colossal monster was no longer breathing.

Sitting atop its mountain-like corpse was Shin, who was casually enjoying the view of the desert from his elevated position.

At the same time, Garnet stared blankly at the entire scene, unable to believe what he was seeing. ”So... this is how powerful the Empyrean Talons are.”

He had been hearing about the reputation of this particular Adventurer Team for a long time.

He had even watched many of their battle videos across different online platforms, particularly those uploaded on their official fan page.

From those videos alone, anyone could already tell just how terrifying the members of that group were.

However, watching those videos and experiencing their strength firsthand were two completely different things.

He had personally witnessed how effortlessly Alucard could kite these massive monsters. The latter was also relying on a pair of pistols, which weren’t even the signature weapons everyone knew him for.

Alucard hadn’t even used his signature Blood Arts during the entire battle.

Then there was Diablo, who moved across the battlefield like a ghost, appearing and disappearing as he silently took the lives of every monster he encountered.

Garnet couldn’t even tell how those monsters had died.

Owen, on the other hand, dealt with these massive creatures in the most straightforward manner possible.

He didn’t care about their enormous size and repeatedly clashed with them as though they were ordinary monsters.

What was even more astonishing was that none of the desert worms had managed to force him to take even a single step backward, much less deal any significant damage to his HP Bar.

Even Samael, who was supposed to be the weakest among the group, was holding his own remarkably well.

He might not have been as flashy as Alucard, as agile as Diablo, or as durable as Owen, but he was at least capable of fighting one of the desert worms by himself.

”For f*ck’s sake! Those are all Level 200 Lord-Rank Desert Grim Worms,” Garnet muttered as he recalled the scenes from the earlier battle.

They had been traveling through one of the most dangerous routes toward the southeastern edge of the Green Marbly Kingdom—the direction leading toward the great Raja Desert.

This region was considered one of the most dangerous maps within the kingdom precisely because of these massive and troublesome monsters.

The Desert Grim Worms were all boss-class monsters.

Not only were they incredibly powerful, but their bodies were also extremely durable, making them extraordinarily difficult to damage.

Moreover, they possessed powerful regenerative abilities, making them even harder to deal with.

On top of that, they could burrow beneath the sand and launch attacks from below, making their movements and attack patterns extremely difficult to predict.

Yet in front of these people, this forbidden land that players throughout the Green Marbly Kingdom usually tried to avoid was nothing more than a simple hunting ground.

However, the most absurd of them all was still the one leading the group.

Garnet turned his head toward the colossal corpse of the much larger desert worm and swallowed hard at the sight.

”That’s the ruler of this region... the Level 225 King-Class Monster—Grim Worm King,” he mumbled before focusing his gaze on Shin. ”...That’s two whole ranks above these Lord-Rank monsters.”

The scene of Shin fighting that colossal monster continued replaying in his mind.

No...

Calling it a fight was already an overstatement.

Throughout the entire battle, Shin had merely toyed with the King-Class Monster, seemingly treating it like a live training dummy.

Garnet recalled the countless sword flashes that had cut through the colossal body of the Grim Worm King at the end of the battle.

An intense shiver ran through his entire body.

”The Battle God is still different...” Garnet kept repeating that he would never provoke these monsters.

”I hope the Big Boss won’t lose his temper and accidentally get us screwed,” he muttered, hoping that the notorious leader of the Desert Bandits would still be in his right mind after hearing about the commission Battle God had prepared for them.

He remained lost in his thoughts, completely unaware that the god was paying attention to an entirely different part of the battlefield.

While Garnet was too focused on the members of the Empyrean Talons, Shin was more interested in the twins who had joined them on this expedition.

”So this is the unique method of the Divine Sound Sect... a combination of swordsmanship and Sound Arts,” Shin mumbled as he observed the pair from his elevated position.

He had heard about these ancient sects in the real world that had managed to preserve their beliefs and traditions despite the long passage of time.

He might have heard about them and read a few records in the past, but this was still his first time seeing one of them in action.

The Asad Tribe, which had recently visited the Springfield Family, was one such ancient power. Shin had even heard that Leonard had the blood of the Asad Tribe flowing through his veins, which explained his warrior nature and powerful bloodline.

According to the mysterious Head Priestess of the mountains in Mountain Sea City, Leonard and the Asad Tribe were descendants of the God of War.

Just like those ancient tribes, the Divine Sound Sect should also possess a long and rich history. As such, its inheritances should not be simple.

(Chapter reference 1100 - 1160)

”Felix’s swordsmanship is quite peculiar...” Shin mumbled as he recalled the other’s fighting style. ”His main strength doesn’t only come from his unique swordsmanship, but also from that strange two-pronged sword he uses.”

”He uses the vibrations it creates as another means of combat. He can manipulate those vibrations to attack, defend, or even affect the minds of his opponents.”

”Interesting~!” A grin appeared on Shin’s face beneath his mask as he found Felix’s swordsmanship quite fascinating.

He had discovered yet another form of swordsmanship that differed from his own and the other styles he had encountered.

Felix’s swordsmanship might not be as complex as his Myriad Transformation Swordsmanship, which relied on the intricacy of his ever-changing swordplay and multiple sword forms.

Nor was it as elegant as Zero’s swordsmanship, which had been forged through the honest pursuit of the sword by a true swordsman.

However, it still possessed a unique identity of its own.

Meanwhile, Felicia’s swordsmanship possessed a flavor of its own.

If Felix’s swordsmanship was enhanced by vibrations, then Felicia’s fighting style relied on the combination of her swordsmanship and her voice.

She employed Sound Arts through her voice, whether through songs or simply by manipulating different pitches.

Her Sound Arts seemed to focus more on illusions and mental attacks, assaulting or disturbing the minds of her enemies before finishing them with her sword.

Both styles were unique, further increasing Shin’s interest in the twins.

”Swordsmanship and Sound Arts, huh?” Shin mumbled as a few thoughts flashed through his mind.

As someone who pursued multiple styles of swordsmanship, Shin couldn’t help but become even more interested in this field.

He had also studied and mastered various types of swords, incorporating their characteristics into his current style of swordplay.

Even his signature Legacy Skill, the Mondi’s Style, possessed multiple forms, each representing a different type of sword that complemented his overall style.

”A two-pronged sword, huh?” he mumbled. ”I’ve used all kinds of swords before, but I’ve never encountered one quite like that.”

He then recalled the various sword forms he possessed.

He still hadn’t fully unlocked all the forms of Mondi’s Style. There was still one form he had never used since obtaining the Legacy Skill.

That form wasn’t exactly a two-pronged sword, but its shape was somewhat similar.

Shin narrowed his eyes as he muttered, ”Should I unlock it as well?”

However, he quickly shook his head. ”I don’t even have a Legendary Sword that can fit it. There’s no point in unlocking it now.”

Regardless, the unique combination of swordsmanship and Sound Arts practiced by the Divine Sound Sect had already planted a seed in Shin’s mind.

Perhaps there was still much more to the sword that he had yet to discover.

...