Sungchul looked at his surroundings. The floating homes on the water were fixed with countless chains and ropes interlinked with each other and fastened securely, and Sungchul knew of the Colossus"s approximate size. If a colossal being comparable in size to a mountain were to awake, this city would literally be destroyed.
"What should we do now?"
Bertelgia asked nervously.
"Can"t be helped."
He wasn"t even acquainted with the people of Panchuria, and the people of this city weren"t quite virtuous. All this was meant to say that Sungchul wouldn"t be bothered if a few of them fell into the water and drowned.
Regardless, there was also nothing he could do at the moment. He had to wait until the Colossus made his appearance as Sungchul preferred not to engage in an underwater battle, but it didn"t feel good twiddling one"s thumb while waiting for tens of thousands of people to be buried at sea. At the very least, he would be different than the aristocrats that would be turning a blind eye while drinking alcohol. No, he had to differentiate himself. If not, then he would become the same type of person as Martin Breggas or Aquiroa.
"…"
Sungchul noticed the ma.s.sive chain between both river banks that ran through the entire city and held the city solidly in place. If he cut it, the city might be able to avoid its destructive fate even if a colossi appears. The floating homes were boats themselves and would be able to withstand some degree of turbulence once freed from the restraints that held them in place.
"I should use that here."
Sungchul pulled out a ma.s.sive blade from his Soul Storage. It was an eccentric blade that had been flattened out to be more like a cleaver used by butchers than a sword. Its name was Krumbui. It was one of the weapons he used when he joined the rebellion to free the people of the continent suffering under the tyranny of the Holy Kingdom of Rutheginea. Once he held out the blade, a strange light flowed out from it and a somewhat easy going and light hearted voice of a man could be heard.
"It"s been a while, Betrayer. Under what presumption have you drew me once again?"
Bertelgia looked around in surprise, but there was only Sungchul and her in sight. The one who had spoken was his blade. Krumbui was a sentient sword, an Ego Sword.
"I no longer work for you."
Frost seemed to acc.u.mulate onto the sharp edge of the blade until it became dull like an old kitchen knife.
"Woah! What is that?"
Bertelgia spoke in surprise. Krumbui immediately retorted.
"Then what are you? You"re also a talking book yourself."
Sungchul grabbed Bertelgia who was wanting to respond and pocketed her before returning his gaze to the large sword in his hand and then spoke calmly.
"You will have to work with me for the moment."
"The reason being?"
"To save innocent people."
Sungchul looked toward the turbulent waves and the thousands of homes floating on top of those waters.
"Is this Panchuria? It"s been a while," said the blade.
"The city will soon be destroyed. If we do not sever the chain that holds the city, the water will swallow countless people to their death."
"Your clumsy sense of justice is the same I see."
Krumbui spoke sarcastically but unlike his sarcasm, the sword’s edge regained its sharpness.
"It"s just this one time."
"I don"t need you for much anyways."
Sungchul suddenly leaped onto a houseboat with Krumbui in one hand.
"Boom!"
It was quite a large house, but the impact of the landing caused it to swoon and shake. Once Sungchul landed onto the roof, he sprinted across the rooves navigating his way to reach the large chains that held the city center.
"L-look over there! What is that?"
Guards on patrol aboard a mid-sized vessel were dumbfounded upon discovering Sungchul.
"That"s an amazing speed. Just who is that man?"
"Could that be one of the rumored Seven Heroes?"
As the soldiers were trying to piece together Sungchul"s ident.i.ty in a befuddled manner, one of the veteran soldiers who had a lot of experience managed to remember the weapon in Sungchul"s hand and urgently shouted back.
"Idiots! That"s the Enemy of the World!"
"What? Doesn"t the Enemy of the World wield a hammer?"
"You narrow-minded idiot! That"s Krumbui. It"s the weapon he used before he stole Fal Garaz from the Dwarf Kingdom!"
The guards shot up in surprise to sound the alarm. The city that had been steeped in a drowsy afternoon went into high alert. Bells of every kind were rung and every tool was employed to make dissonant noises in alert of the Enemy of the World"s arrival. Even the hopeless drunks were brought out of their stupor and forced to head outside for once by this unprecedented event.
Sungchul witnessed chaos spreading through the city like wildfire as he continued to run across the rooves toward the city center as he planned. Following the chains and ropes which crisscrossed the entirety of Panchuria, Sungchul arrived at the center where the residence of Governor Chui was. This houseboat was made from a ma.s.sive five-story wars.h.i.+p, a landmark readily visible from the whole city due to the relatively low height of average houseboats.
Sungchul safely landed upon the Governor"s home uninterrupted. The soldiers guarding the Governor did not dare to move out of sheer terror and the thought of fighting did not occur to them. A skinny officer kicked at the soldiers" rears and shouted a command.
"What are you all gawking at! Fire, you useless maggots!"
Sungchul stared at the officer with piercing eyes of indifference. The officer that met his gaze froze like a deer caught in the headlights before turning to flee. Sungchul swung the ma.s.sive Krumbui lightly.
Whoosh
The overwhelming gust of wind swept through the soldiers causing their clothes and hair to shake violently. Several of their hats could not endure the wind and fell into the river water. Sungchul then glared at them and uttered a single word
"Scram."
The Panchurian rabble carried out his order obediently. Sungchul stood before the residence that had been reduced to pandemonium and looked to the metal chain that held Panchuria together.
"Ugh… What is that?!"
Governor Chui ran out to his terrace on the third floor of his home in a panic and discovered Sungchul.
"P-please stop this! Commander-in-chief of the Empire! Panchuria will be done if you cut that chain!"
"…"
Sungchul did not spare the Governor even a single glance before lifting Krumbui and slicing the chain through.
Crunch!
It was a metal chain the size of a large tree trunk, but when met with the sharp blade of Krumbui and Sungchul"s G.o.d-like strength, it split like b.u.t.ter. The innumerable floating homes that were held together by the chain trembled as though they were met with an earthquake.
"Uwaaa! Panchuria is done for!"
The Governor held his head and looked toward the sky as he screamed in despair, but another quake incomparably larger than the one before struck his home the next moment. Laurumei Chui immediately fell off from his terrace headfirst.
"Arghhhhhh!"
It was enough for an average person to die or be gravely wounded, but as someone befitting the t.i.tle of Governor, Laurumei stood up with light abrasions and bruises. He slowly raised his head to find something black lingering in his vision. It was not a common occurrence for something to be seen underwater where the water was always muddy and unclear.
"A fish?"
But there was no way that there was a fish that big, and soon the Governor saw it. The figure of a Colossus that was pus.h.i.+ng away the river in its entirety to make its way to the surface.
At the same time, something was occurring at the Panchurian branch of the Coalition of Merchants.
"Kruut Asaam! What is your relation to the Enemy of the World?"
At this place, mercenaries hired by the Coalition of Merchants had tied Kruut to a pillar while shaming him under the eyes of several people. The Head of the Panchurian Branch of the Coalition of Merchant"s was watching Kruut"s interrogation with a bored expression on his face.
"That b.a.s.t.a.r.d Laurumei, why is he not taking the opportunity right in his face?"
He had considered taking on Sungchul, even on his own. Even if Sungchul was someone of great infamy within the world and was considered impossible to oppose, but he felt that the seasoned mercenaries he had gathered from all over at great personal cost had a chance of victory. He could only feel this way as he had never witnessed someone truly powerful. He was a Panchurian hick who had grown in Panchuria and had only seen Panchurian people.
The way he saw it, Sungchul was someone that about ten Superhuman a.s.sa.s.sins could take care of handily. Although he had no way to verify it, but he had managed to acquire fifteen Superhuman a.s.sa.s.sins from the underworld. He didn"t doubt that the Enemy of the World would show his face if he continued to hold Kruut in this way. And once Sungchul finally shows himself, the Branch Manager planned to use the Superhuman a.s.sa.s.sins to kill the man who had risen to the ranks of legends.
"I might be able to get an important position within the main branch of the Coalition if I manage to succeed with this. No, I might even become Governor Hornecko"s successor from this!"
As the branch head continued to daydream, a single boat was heading in this direction from the far side of the waterway evoking great waves.
"Is it the Enemy of the World?"
The Branch Manager lifted his body from his seat with a look filled with antic.i.p.ation, but it soon turned to disappointment.
"It"s Clarise Asaam. Kruut"s Granddaughter."
Someone nearby whispered into his ear.
"Grab that woman too and tie them up together."
The Branch Manager ordered with annoyance clearly present in his voice. But in the next moment, something jumped out from behind Clarise causing a ma.s.sive torrent of water to spray everywhere. The Panchurian river quaked violently causing the entire city floating on top to shake with equal force. Several thousands of houseboats shook terribly when the chains which tied the city together were severed.
"What is this?"
Unfortunately, this was not the end of it. A powerful quake, incomparably larger than the previous, shook through the entirety of the city before the previous one had even finished. The Branch Manager could see it amidst the quaking. He could see the mountainous something that was making its way out of the river through the city.
"W-what is that?!"
It was Eckheart"s masterpiece. Colossal Calamity Warmachine Bertelgia Unit 3 had awakened from its long slumber of thousands of years.
"…"
Sungchul watched from afar, looking at the colossus that was rising out of the water, as it pushed the floating homes away.
"It"s larger than I thought."
The large chain that held the city was cut, but the countless small chains that held the boats together still remained.
"Is my work done?"
Sungchul shook his head at Krumbui"s question before flying like a streak toward the bottleneck of ropes and chains, cutting them apart with a single strike.
"Your work has just begun."
It was more effective to cut apart the ropes and chains soaked in all kinds of debris and filth of the river water with the larger blade surface area of Krumbui compared to Fal Garaz. In other words, it was simply Krumbui"s role to cut apart the junk.
"Mm… To cut apart the disgusting filth than the lives of warriors."
"It"s all in the name of saving lives."
Sungchul continued to cut apart the various things that held the boats together one after another without rest. The Colossus pressed up from below the boathouses and broke them apart as it emerged from the water near the southern port of the city. Countless homes that were connected to each other through chains were wound up together before sliding off the moss-covered surface of the giant and plunging into the water. Innumerable people died violent deaths in confusion as the city was wrapped in chaos that couldn"t be compared to the moment when Sungchul made his appearance.
"Ugh… S-Stop that thing!"
The Branch Manager commanded his hard acquired a.s.sa.s.sins, but there was no way his a.s.sa.s.sins would follow such orders in such a situation.
"How the f.u.c.k do we stop that kind of a thing, idiot?"
The a.s.sa.s.sins hopped onto a small boat and rowed the oars frantically. The Branch Manager witnessed Clarise pull apart the ropes which bound Kruut with her bare hands before putting him aboard the Branch Manager’s own boat.
"Stop that thing! Stop it, I say!"
There was now no one left beside the Branch Manager. Clarise peeked over toward him before rowing with great speed to escape this place. The Branch Manager, now left alone, could feel everything turning dark around him. He felt a chill crawling up the back of his neck and turned back to see a ma.s.sive figure that seemed to reach the top of the heavens and a tsunami of homes and boats showering in a flurry heading in his direction.
"Aaahhhhhh!"
The black torrent swallowed up the Branch Manager while Sungchul kept cutting apart the chains that held the boats together.
"Everyone, ignore everything and escape to the water! Hurry!"
Bertelgia clung onto Sungchul’s back and warned anyone she saw to run for safety. Sungchul"s determined struggle didn"t turn out to be useless after all. The floating homes that were struck by the immense tsunami and scattered with the arrival of the Colossus in the center and northern port of the city had enough pliability to float on the water, but the areas that he hadn"t managed to cut apart crashed into one another from the rolling waves, submerging into the water in pieces.
The rough turbulence caused the lanterns lighting the buildings to shatter and ignite into a powerful blaze that swept across the western side of the city. The blaze continued to grow as time pa.s.sed and looked as if it was about to swallow up the entire river. Sungchul looked up toward the Colossus who stood on top of the blazing waters in its entirety. A thunderous voice rang out from the top of the Colossus.
"Demolisher! I have seen your might, but how about now? Can you face this Colossus made to take after a G.o.d?"
Daltanius let out a haughty laugh.
"Your role has come to an end."
Sungchul placed Krumbui into his Soul Storage and pulled out Fal Garaz instead. He looked up toward the Colossus and recited his mantra in a low tone of voice.
"There"s nothing I can"t handle."
Chapter took a while as we were doing a whole lot of stuff regarding book 2 release. Today, I would like to share the cover art of the second book with all of you. Here have a look everyone at the cover of Book 2 The Demon Realm