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Chapter 53




- Are they really... heroes who dedicated themselves to the continent and humanity?
For Priest Andrew, it was incomprehensible.
He couldn't understand how they could so easily destroy the gravestones of the comrades who died fighting alongside them.
They were 500 knights who embarked on the Great Expedition to the Demon World, leading from the front and dedicating themselves.
Though they didn't make a name for themselves like the 8 Heroes, and though no one recognized them, the citizens of this city, the 'Garden of Knights,' had erected these gravestones to honor them at their own expense.
He couldn't understand the reason for destroying and defacing them.
“...”
I stood silently in the center of the city square, watching the gravestones shatter and scatter.
Originally, the names of the 500 knights should have been inscribed here,
“James, Noah, Lucas, Jacob, Zion, Behma, Bram...”
Their names, still vivid in my mind, should have been etched on this gravestone.
They deserved it.
They had risked their lives, dedicating themselves alongside me at the forefront of the Demon World.
They were honorable people who could throw away their lives to protect their families, friends, and others.
But the gravestones were shattered, the surface worn away, and instead, other names filled the space.
『Maxim.』
『Gracia.』
『Master.』
『Darkstar.』
『Obsidian.』
『Fanxi.』
『Wilhelm.』
『Lucifer.』
—The great 8 heroes who saved the continent from the Demon World,
who saved humanity from the Demon King,
as if their own praise was more important than the 500 knights.
They filled it so tightly.
I thought I understood how the 8 Heroes, at least Maxim, viewed those who died in the Great Expedition.
They were pushing away and erasing those who truly fought.
They were erasing the fact that they had even participated in the Great Expedition.
Perhaps like Wilhelm.
“...The honorable ones all died then.”
Only those who knew no honor,
only the cowards and the shameless, survived.
But I had no intention of shifting the blame to those who fled out of fear.
Fear is instinct, and that place was hell.
However, it was unbearable to see those who fled try to erase the fact and even tarnish the honor of those who fought with all their might.
Not only tarnishing but claiming the honor as their own, turning the real into the fake and the fake into the real, made me feel sick.
And among those eight who shouted for honor, some had not even participated in the Great Expedition.
I was genuinely curious.
Why are they doing this?
The world is in danger.
Pangaea, Earth, everything is in a dangerous state.
At a time when unity is needed, why are they causing such division?
Why are they so infuriating?
“Knock it down!”
“Over there! Put more force into it!”
“Yeah, it’s falling!”
Rumble!
Turning my gaze to the noise, I saw the statues falling.
The statues of the honorable knights who led the Garden of Knights.
They were the identity and pride of this city.
They were being knocked down using the citizens.
“I can’t do it anymore!”
“Why do we have to do this?”
“If you want to knock them down, do it yourselves!”
The people resisted.
Then a soldier drew his sword.
“Do you want your heads to be hung in the square? This is a direct order from the 8 Hero Maxim. Duke Wiser has agreed to it.”
“It’s a forced agreement! The Duke would never agree to this!”
“Bad bastards. What kind of 8 Heroes are you? What did Old Mae do wrong?”
“Now, after she finally found the strength to live, how can you do this to her?”
“Bastards! I can’t take it anymore!”
As the people rose up, the soldiers stood against them.
“Anyone who resists will die!”
“Do you think we’ll be afraid of you?”
“Draw your swords!”
No matter how much Maxim’s soldiers were, Maxim himself was part of the Balan Kingdom.
These soldiers were also part of the Balan Kingdom, and this city was part of the Balan Kingdom.
Yet, they so easily drew their swords against their own citizens.
They even didn’t hesitate to kill.
I looked at the heads hanging in the square.
‘Mae.’
The old woman I saw weeping in front of the gravestone when I first visited this city.
The grandmother of Zion, one of the 500 knights whose name was inscribed on the gravestone.
I remembered bringing her to Priest Andrew when she had fallen.
Now, after finally acknowledging her grandson’s death and trying to live, she was...
The problem was this.
The gravestone. She must have protested about her grandson’s name being erased, and that’s why she was beheaded.
- Ignore it and avoid it. If the successor is here, Maxim won’t let it go.
Priest Andrew’s words echoed in my mind.
Ignore it and avoid it.
Right. Logically, it’s not wrong.
Maxim is strong.
Even though I’m a fugitive, I was the leader of a mercenary group I hired myself.
At least level 10.
And not just any level 10, but one with the ‘Qualification to Transcend.’
The ‘Qualification to Transcend’ means all stats have been maxed out to the level cap.
Only those who have reached level 10 and maxed out all their stats to 100 can transcend.
Moreover, if he has become even stronger since then or has transcended, I have no chance of winning.
The most realistic method would be to ask the White King.
To blow up Maxim and his city.
“Aah!”
“These bastards!”
So, should I endure?
Compromise with reality.
Should I pretend not to see it for now?
“I’ll do it.”
“Isn’t this why you hired me to dirty my hands at times like this?”
Isabella and Isaac drew their weapons.
At that moment,
《A ‘Party’ has been formed.》
《The ‘Unity’ effect has been added.》
Now, for the first time, we were in sync.
《The ‘Iron-Blooded Overlord’s Heart’ does not exclude the emotion of ‘Rage.’》
《This is a matter that a ruler should rightfully be enraged about.》
《The ‘Hidden Trait Quest: Iron-Blooded Overlord’ has begun.》
I shook my head.
I didn’t hold back.
As the Knight King.
As the one who led them, it was right to be enraged.
*
“Are you the fraudster who claims to be the successor of the Knight King?”
Maxim sneered, twirling his dagger.
He wondered who had caused such a commotion, and it turned out to be a fraudster claiming to be the successor of the Knight King.
How many had claimed to be the successor of the Knight King Wilhelm after his death?
“Interesting. A mere level 6, claiming to be the successor of the Knight King!”
Maxim burst into laughter.
Because the level of the person causing the commotion was only 6.
Maxim could see the level of his opponents.
The ‘Level Confirmation’ skill he had transcended twice allowed him to confirm the ‘level’ of everything in Pangaea.
It was only for confirming levels, so he couldn’t know anything else, but that was enough.
Thanks to this, he could determine everything except for the ‘Undetectable’ option.
The reason Maxim had survived so far.
He had only fought enemies he could defeat.
And a level 6 could be killed with a single finger.
‘He’s not alone. But there can’t be many.’
He didn’t think the fake successor had come alone.
Moreover, there were still people slaughtering the soldiers in the lord’s castle.
Probably party members.
They must have helped him to make it possible.
“Duke Wiser, did you send this fake to kill me?”
“...!”
“What to do. I have to kill him and make you pay for it...”
“Fugitive Maxim.”
“...?”
Fugitive Maxim.
Maxim frowned.
“Are you talking to me?”
“How can you be called one of the 8 Heroes when you ran away without even looking back at ‘Ahram’?”
“...”
“How could you become a hero when you abandoned 300 mercenaries who shared life and death with you, just to save yourself?”
“...!”
For a moment, the smile on Maxim’s lips disappeared.
Almost no one knew about his escape.
Except for the other 8 Heroes, they were all dead.
Yet, the ‘self-proclaimed successor of the Knight King’ in front of him was talking about something no one knew.
“You’re barking.”
“By the way, you owe me money.”
“Money?”
“12 million gold. The money I paid to hire you.”
“...!!!”
The amount paid to hire him.
No one knew except for the parties involved.
Only himself and the Knight King Wilhelm.
For a moment, Maxim’s mind snapped to attention.
Someone who knew everything no one else knew.
“You... Could it be...”
It couldn’t be.
It was impossible,
but if, by some chance, one in a million,
the fake in front of him wasn’t actually a fake?
The real disciple of the Knight King Wilhelm,
an insider,
or.
‘Phantom...’
Player, Phantom!
If not, it wouldn’t make sense.
But seeing the level 6 confidently confront him, it couldn’t be Phantom. Phantom wouldn’t engage in a losing battle.
Even if not Phantom, it was definitely someone very close to Phantom.
‘If I push him to the brink, he’ll spill everything.’
If he could lure and capture Phantom.
He could become stronger faster than anyone using that information.
Becoming the sole hero, not just one of the 8 Heroes, would be a matter of time.
Whoosh!
Black flames surged from Maxim’s entire body.
Demon Heart.
The power that made him even stronger, like a star.
‘I’ll end this quickly.’
A mere level 6.
He could tear him apart with a single finger.
His movements wouldn’t even be visible.
Maxim kicked off the ground. In an instant, he reached the target and swung his dagger at the shoulder.
By severing the muscles and tendons and pouring boiling water and salt on the skin, he could make him confess even things he didn’t remember.
Whoosh!
...But, it was blocked.
Blocked by seeing his movements and reacting accurately.
Maxim was puzzled.
‘What was that?’
It was definitely not the movement of a level 6.
Moreover, his hand and wrist ached as if they were about to come off.
The damage from such a crude iron sword was impossible.
“Holy Water...!”
Only then did Maxim realize that both of the iron swords were coated with ‘Holy Water.’
Not just any Holy Water, but the highest quality.
The stimulation from just a clash of swords was this intense.
“You had a trick up your sleeve.”
Maxim chuckled.
Of course, he must have come with a trick.
But it still didn’t make sense.
Even if the swords were coated with Holy Water, it wouldn’t matter if they didn’t hit.
The amount of such high-quality Holy Water would be minimal.
At most, a little on the blade.
‘Acceleration of