Ch.1127Gambling Is the Shortcut to Ruin and Disgrace.

“There’s a saying that even a ruined rich family can last three generations.

Those with wealth can endure significant losses for quite some time, so the adage warns that to truly eliminate them, one must remain vigilant and decisively cut off their head.

“Kuk…!”

Arthur recalled that adage after a very long time.

“What’s wrong? You’re staggering.”

Before the imposing presence of the former demigod who, though clearly declined from his prime, remained formidable nonetheless.

‘To think it would be this difficult…!’

Arthur groaned through gritted teeth as he clutched his face, half of which had been smashed away by a rock.

The serious battle had barely begun, yet he had already suffered grievous injuries—one arm gone and half his skull blown away.

These were merely severe injuries because he had been resurrected as a Knight of Death; had he been alive, they would have been instantly fatal wounds.

Moreover, large holes burned through his abdomen and legs, and not a single part of his armor remained uncracked or unbroken.

In short, he looked like a dying, defeated soldier by anyone’s standards.

“Could it be you’ve already reached your limit?”

In stark contrast to Arthur, Heirek remained intact with no visible injuries except for a slightly pale complexion.

In truth, he had sustained injuries, but each time, overflowing holy light immediately repaired the damage…

‘I can deplete him, but… anything beyond that seems impossible.’

Unless Heirek suffered a fatal wound like Arthur’s severed head, the injuries he sustained were merely minor wounds that wouldn’t lead to instant death.

‘Even weakened, a demigod is still a demigod…’

Heirek had certainly weakened. That much was clear.

The divine light he emitted didn’t even reach half its former brightness, and the miracles he performed were inferior to the past in every aspect—casting speed, output, and range.

Moreover, his physical deterioration was incomparable to the weakening of his divine power.

Strength, endurance, reaction time, and senses.

All combat functions had degraded terribly. In the past, he would have charged forward with blessings covering his entire body, but now he merely cast divine miracles from where he stood.

Seeing this, Arthur was certain that if they had engaged in close combat with swords rather than this battle of firepower, he would have won eight out of ten times.

Of course, the very fact that a knight couldn’t even approach a priest was already stark evidence of the skill gap between them.

If their abilities had been equal—or even if Arthur had been only slightly outmatched—he could have severed Heirek’s neck long ago.

Unlike paladins, priests were inherently vulnerable in one-on-one combat, a class that only shone when accompanied by guards to protect them.

‘My chances… aren’t very high.’

This meant that even Heirek, incomparably weaker than his former self, was still stronger than Arthur’s current state.

For Arthur to defeat Heirek, he needed something beyond his own strength.

For example, the blessing of a deity who desired his victory.

…However, the goddess he served, Bellona of Death, had long since perished and could no longer bestow new blessings upon him.

Or perhaps a powerful weapon capable of overturning the power difference between them.

…His sword, Caliburn, was certainly a powerful magic blade that met those conditions, but Heirek’s staff was no less formidable.

Or an advantageous compatibility that could negate or overcome the difference in skill level.

…The compatibility was actually unfavorable. The divine power of Gemina, Goddess of Life, was the antithesis to his power of death. It was a relationship where the stronger would crush the weaker.

Or perhaps a third powerful entity with whom he could form a temporary alliance.

…Of course, no such entity existed. The only third party remaining was the Evil God of Envy, who had exhausted his strength through repeated reckless actions.

【 Ugh… uuuugh… 】

Naturally, that being was currently struggling just to cling to his own life, let alone join the fight.

The forced descent, consecutive battles causing depletion, and damage to his divine core were already fatal injuries, and he had been caught in Heirek’s divine miracles multiple times afterward.

Invidius, having suffered fatal wounds, lacked the strength to avoid those waves of pure white light and was helplessly swept away multiple times, each time convulsing as he burned fiercely.

Whenever he tried to recover even a little strength, Heirek’s holy light immediately burned his entire body again—this was torture in every sense of the word.

In fact, it was already miraculous that he still maintained his form at all.

For Arthur, far from expecting or inducing Invidius’s assistance, he needed to somehow protect him from being “purified” into oblivion.

‘…Not a single advantage. Then, that’s all I can count on.’

Divine help. Superior armament. Favorable compatibility. Powerful alliance.

With none of these factors properly in place, Arthur had only one remaining foundation for a reversal.

– KWAAANG!

“Lord Arthur! Are you safe?!”

Knights in black armor burst through the collapsed wall.

‘Yes, they’ve finally arrived…!’

In other words, a joint attack with his subordinates who had been following him since he teleported to the underground of the forest desert.

—-

Several days ago.

After detecting divine power mixed with Bellona’s remnants from the direction of the great forest, Arthur decided after careful consideration to personally verify its identity.

It was an extremely dangerous undertaking no matter how he looked at it, but for Arthur, it was the best option.

Not checking was out of the question.

Since his lord, Archduke Garmerlic, was in a condition where he couldn’t even move, there was no other way but for Arthur to go himself.

Of course, venturing alone into a place where he couldn’t even guess what dangers lurked was not just dangerous but foolish.

Arthur wasn’t that foolish, so he brought along troops under his command as escorts when he teleported, in case of emergency.

If there was one thing he failed to consider, it was that the owner of that powerful divine power would fall at an unimaginably rapid pace.

Well, this was entirely due to Fafnir’s unexpected appearance, so Arthur couldn’t be blamed for misjudging.

Anyway, this meant Arthur needed to reach the frontline as quickly as possible, and from that moment on, he and his subordinates rushed toward the battlefield at full speed.

Even the fastest among his subordinates couldn’t keep up with his pace, so by the time he arrived at the scene, they had all fallen behind, leaving him alone.

That was why Arthur had to face Heirek alone, and why he continued to hold out despite the unfavorable situation.

If he held out long enough, those who had fallen behind would soon join him like this, becoming his strength.

“Wait, that’s… could that be the Holy King of Zarem…?”

“Why is the ‘Holy King’ here…?!”

Of course, having just arrived, they had no time to understand what was happening, and some who were acquainted with Heirek like Arthur hesitated in bewilderment…

“Everyone engage in combat! Zarem is now our enemy!”

As soon as Arthur’s resolute order fell, they drew their weapons and quickly formed battle formations, as if they had never hesitated.

“Hmm… reinforcements at this point…”

Heirek furrowed his brow and sighed something like a groan.

‘Things have become… somewhat troublesome.’

The one-on-one battle had instantly transformed into one against dozens. Moreover, there was no guarantee that their numbers would stop at mere dozens.

The specialty of the Undead Duke’s army, as he remembered, was overwhelming with vast numbers of the dead raised by the power of death.

And it wasn’t just about numbers.

The “Knights of Bellona,” the pillars of the Undead Duke’s army, were second only to Arthur in skill.

When four or more gathered like now, it was almost like having another Arthur, making this a force that even Heirek couldn’t help but find daunting.

‘…I should have taken down at least that one before it came to this.’

Though Heirek had maintained an outwardly composed appearance throughout, this was merely an act to avoid showing weakness before the enemy.

In truth, Heirek had been giving his all since the beginning of the battle to eliminate Arthur as quickly as possible.

While he could somehow handle Arthur alone, any additional interference would be extremely troublesome for him.

But was it because the power he lost through the Martyr’s Sacrifice was too great? Or because Arthur had grown stronger than Heirek remembered?

Heirek ultimately failed to quickly defeat Arthur, and as a result, he now faced the situation he had feared most.

Surrounded alone amidst an army of the undead that wouldn’t easily die from attacks with weak divine power.

“Surround him! The Holy King of Zarem has declined. We can kill him now!”

Arthur, whose head was half blown away, had already begun regenerating his skull, befitting a body that had already died once.

“…If we can kill him, taking his divine power would benefit the Archduke as well.”

The Knights of Bellona, determined to atone for raising their swords against their lord under the influence of an enemy’s power by seizing the demigod’s divine power for their Archduke.

“Groooo…!”

“KYAAAAAAAK!”

The monsters of the undead legion, intelligent but unable to speak human language, roared with fighting spirit.

Before the former demigod who had been burning the last of his life for a final gamble, a thick and massive dark cloud descended like a trial.

A cloud of hardship filled with death.