The Duke's Son :Re-Chapter 288

There were endless types of gates—some reset, some closed upon first clearance; some formed slowly, some formed at the snap of the fingers; some spawned endless monsters, some housed not a single blade of grass, let alone living creatures...

Among various gates, those that appeared suddenly were the most vicious because they were accompanied by a monster wave, with monsters flooding outside the gate.

The phenomenon was similar to what happened when a normal gate went uncleared for too long a period, except that with sudden gates, there was no grace period, no time to prepare. The monster wave triggered as soon as the gate formed.

Kieeeeeek!

Thousands of bats flew from the gate. No, not bats—the creatures were little more than mouths with wings.

The monster swarm packed the sky so densely that not even moonlight could slip through, and as they dove down, they resembled a crashing waterfall.

“F-flymice! Focus on defense... aack!”

The biting power of flymice was infamous. It was said they could chew through swords and shields, and there were even rumors that they could drill straight through mountains.

It didn’t seem like an exaggeration.

The players who raised their shields found themselves with holes in their shields as well as their bodies.

“Don’t defend! Attack!”

Bellona led her men on the offense and cast an AOE Skill.

Dancing Blade.

Numerous blades of mana vibrated and swept through the surroundings, cutting down dozens of flymice without resistance.

Although flymice boasted tremendous attack power and mobility, their defense was terrible. Their health didn’t reach beyond the single digits, and their innate defense was little different from that of a human.

“Sorry! It is the first time I’ve dealt with it...”

“Shut up and focus!

The flymice’s bombardment continued.

The creatures barreled forward with yawning mouths of jagged teeth. Bellona’s group had no chance to breathe and were forced to unleash successive attacks.

Meanwhile, on the ground, the Thunder Emperor was occupied with another kind of monster.

A pack of tri-horned, crimson elephants, each the size of a house, pounded across the ground with their heads tucked and horns at the fore, uprooting trees like weeds and crushing decorative boulders like melons, never slowing.

They were throne elephants—a species of monsters renowned for their brute strength and immense physical defense.

Of course, as a lightning caster, the Thunder Emperor had countless ways to circumvent physical defense.

“Shock Wave!”

Kaboom!

Four throne elephants let out mournful cries and crashed to the ground, twitching. At the same time, the remaining five throne elephants were spooked. Two of them turned their charge on the Kang mansion—but the other three veered past the Thunder Emperor, heading straight for the outer wall.

“Dammit.”

Sweat beaded the Thunder Emperor’s brow. If the elephants broke past the Kang Estate’s premises, civilian lives would be at risk.

Backup from the Korean Association is likely on its way—but it’ll be some time before they arrive. No, even once they do, the Korean Association’s initial response teams might be ill-equipped to handle throne elephants.

Countless thoughts and concerns flashed through the Thunder Emperor’s mind. But there was nothing he could do—already, the four elephants before him had recovered and were back on their feet. Resuming their charge, they followed in the wake of the three throne elephants who by then had neared the outer wall.

Boom! Boom!

The Kang Estate's outerwalls... They had shielded the Kang family from backlash for eight years, yet proved utterly useless before the enormity of the throne elephants. The tremors from their stampede sent the walls crumbling before they’d even arrived.

The Thunder Emperor’s jaw tightened, but he returned his focus to the trailing herd of four throne elephants—problems had to be taken one at a time.

Lightning gathered in his hands.

But as he prepared to cast a spell, the Thunder Emperor’s pupils shrank, and he vanished into the sky with a beat of his wings.

An instant later, several pairs of pincers scythed the air where the Thunder Emperor had been.

Kikik? Kikikik!

The Thunder Emperor looked down and gulped.

The druiltus—they were a swarm of bipedal, beetle-like creatures that stood nearly three meters tall. They held various weapons in their upper four appendages—but the truly lethal weapon was their facial pincers.

Had he moved any slower, had the druiltus’ pincers caught him... The Thunder Emperor cast the thought from his mind; he was still in one piece, and now was not the time to dwell.

It looks like all the troublesome ones have gathered.

The aggressive flymice, the slow but tough throne elephants, and the notoriously cautious druiltus... every monster type perfectly complemented the others. It made him suspect that someone who fully understood player strategies had developed this monster lineup.

To handle this, we’ll need an army. It seemed the key would be how fast the Korean military responded. Until then, the best they could do was...

“Bellona!’

“Yes!”

“Protect the mansion! Prove that the American Association isn’t in the same league as Wilhelm!”

The Thunder Emperor had suspected them earlier—but Wilhelm’s last attack had cleared him of his doubts: Wilhelm had attempted to destroy the mansion, while Bellona’s group had struggled to protect the Yaksha and the mansion.

“Leave it to me—”

Boom!

Before Bellona could finish, the Thunder Emperor shot off.

There was no time to waste; sustaining both Thunderstorm and Thunder Wings was a massive drain on the Thunder Emperor’s mana reserves. Already, the searing, incandescent light of his Thunder Wings was starting to fade.

Defend the city until the army arrives.

Nationality didn’t matter. As a player, his duty lay in protecting civilians. He could not and would not turn a blind eye.

He summoned a whip of lightning and swept it toward the herd of four throne elephants. The whip's length split into four, grew thicker and longer, and wrapped around the four throne elephants.

“Uraah!”

The veins on the Thunder Emperor’s neck bulged as he doubled, then tripled the amount of mana fueling the lightning whip.

The throne elephants wailed, and the Thunder Emperor redoubled his mana output once more—releasing a thunderous battle cry as he did.

The throne elephants crashed to the ground. Despite their charred skin, the monsters were only incapacitated.

But that was fine.

Killing them hadn’t been the Thunder Emperor’s intention—he knew the drain on his mana as well as the time it would take to do so were more than he could afford.

The Thunder Emperor flew down, landed on the head of the first throne elephant, and drove his fist through its beady eyes before moving on to the next.

Now for the others.

The Thunder Emperor took off toward the Kang Estate’s front gate, making it to the far gardens before the Thunder Wings on his back vanished with the last of his mana.

Boom!

Landing on his feet, the Thunder Emperor carried his momentum forward with a meter-devouring sprint. He soon passed the front gate as a blur and slid to a halt in the middle of the road.

Shit.

Blaring horns and hoarse screams; burning cars and broken waterlines; shattered trees and half-collapsed buildings...

The subdivision looked like hell on earth. And at the center of it all was a red, hulking throne elephant.

"Ahh!”

“Run!”

Due to the Thunder Emperor’s earlier mana-amplified speech, there were countless more vehicles and citizens than usual gathered around Kang Estate.

Debris showered the street whenever a throne elephant collided with a building, further adding to the mayhem.

The Thunder Emperor shouted, “Everyone, stay calm and move this way!”

His voice should’ve inspired courage in the public. But it was no use—the chaotic crowd was in a frenzy of fear, and people pushed past the Thunder Emperor without any sign of stopping.

It was no surprise; he’d drained his dantian dry; his aura of lightning energy had vanished along with his mana. Without his signature aura, no one recognized him.

Another building collapsed, cutting off the civilians’ escape route.

“Shit!”

The Thunder Emperor gritted his teeth, pulled a street lamp from the ground, and hurled it at the elephant. Even without mana, he was the Thunder Emperor—as a contender for the title of World’s Strongest, his every stat had reached an inhuman level.

Boom!

The street lamp struck the throne elephant and flattened like a spent bullet. A visible shock wave spread from the point of impact. Thick hide rippled like water, and the throne elephant staggered before letting out a thunderous trumpet.

Then, it charged.

“Fine then.” The Thunder Emperor breathed deep, gathered his focus, and summoned a sword, a weapon he rarely used in normal circumstances.

With the scabbard in one hand, he gripped the hilt in the other and leaned forward.

Recognition lit in the eyes of the panicked Koreans.

“Thunder God?”

“The Yaksha!”

In the eyes of the younger generation, the Thunder Emperor resembled Jae-Hyeok, while in the eyes of the older generation, he resembled Jae-Hyeok’s father.

That’s right.

The Thunder Emperor’s stance was that of Kang-style swordsmanship.

The lightning-shaped scar etched across his chest flared with heat.

He embraced it. He recalled the very moment that man’s blade had sundered his chest, and the heat grew scorching.

Yaksha Style-Thunderclap.

Rumble!

The Thunder Emperor’s arm blurred, and a bloody ravine silently opened in the throne elephant’s forehead. Its limbs buckled, and its massive head slammed into the road.

Only then did a string of sonic booms shake the sky.

The Thunder Emperor sighed and sheathed his sword.

[You have defeated an SS-grade monster with a single strike using pure swordsmanship.]

[Miraculous achievement!]

[All stats have increased by 5.]

[The new Skill Thunderclap has been acquired.]

“......”

The citizens were dazzled by the Thunder Emperor’s display of swordsmanship, and a stunned silence fell over the area.

“Hah.”

The Thunder Emperor sighed. Fate was indeed fickle. How many days had he spent struggling in Reinhardt? All that work, only for him to break through his power plateau on Earth. Progress through reflection... I guess even I can’t escape that old adage.

What was an emperor?

An emperor was the father of his people—all lives fell under his purview, and under heaven’s mandate, the lives of the innocent were his to guard.

Likewise, he, the Thunder Emperor, had always strived to protect others. However, as his power grew and the challenge of protecting others diminished, he’d begun to chase power for the sake of power, slowly losing sight of his original purpose.

Thankfully, in the midst of this calamity, he regained his clarity.

Thunder Emperor’s lips formed a gentle curve. In that moment, it was as if he’d returned to his twenty-year-old self, a young man who was yet worn and jaded by life.

Bam!

The Thunder Emperor’s smile lingered even as his chest was pierced by a bone lance.

“Have you gone senile?”

“Wil... helm...”

“You think you can afford to play with swords and monsters after challenging me? You’re either wildly arrogant or have lost your mind. Either way, you’re unfit to live.”

Wilhelm approached, summoned a bone blade, and pressed it to the Thunder Emperor's neck. Then, gently, affectionately, he whispered, “Whatever your mental flaws, worry not. I will make you perfect.”

Wilhelm drew back his arm and slashed at the Thunder Emperor’s neck—only to meet a crimson sword halfway.

“The one unfit to live is you!”

“Kang Jae-Hyeok!”

The Wilhelm hurriedly stepped back, but it was too late. It had only been a few weeks since they last crossed paths, yet now, and at such close distance, Jae-Hyeok’s sword moved faster than Wilhelm could react.