Strongest Kingdom: My Op Kingdom Got Transported Along With Me

Chapter 411: Chapter 410: I Will Not Betraye My Kingdom

Every gust possessed enough power to slice apart Tier 6 defenses.

Verila dove from the heavens like a bolt of emerald lightning.

Her wings vibrated at terrifying speed.

The pressure generated by their movement shattered the sound barrier again and again.

"[Tier 6 Skill: Stormrend Descent!]"

Charles looked upward.

The Tier 7 sword roared.

Golden sword light pierced toward the descending serpent.

BOOOOOOOOM!

Wind collided with sword intent.

The resulting explosion scattered countless invisible blades across the battlefield.

Stone buildings below were cut into perfect cubes.

Entire towers collapsed without anyone touching them.

Verila spun through the explosion with astonishing grace.

She never remained in one place for longer than an instant.

Every pass of her wings created another barrage of compressed wind blades.

Charles defended flawlessly.

His sword danced like flowing water. Every strike carried traces of Law. Every swing severed hurricanes apart.

Yet, he couldn’t counterattack.

Because every time he focused on one opponent...

The other two attacked immediately.

The moment he aimed at Verila...

Rip!

Zurrak emerged from another dimensional tear behind him.

The instant he blocked Zurrak...

Grathum’s burning hammer descended from above.

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Charles barely raised his sword in time.

The impact drove him downward hundreds of meters.

The sky shattered beneath the collision.

Before he could recover, Verila’s tail whipped across his ribs.

CRACK!

His armor caved inward.

Charles coughed up another mouthful of blood.

His eyes widened slightly.

Their coordination was perfect.

Not a single movement was wasted.

Not a single attack overlapped unnecessarily.

Grathum created pressure.

Verila controlled space through speed and relentless aerial assaults.

Zurrak waited patiently for the smallest opening before striking from impossible angles.

Separately...

Each of them was merely close to the strength of a Quasi Tier 7.

Together, they had become something entirely different.

Charles finally understood.

He wasn’t fighting three Peak Tier 6 monsters.

He was fighting a hunting pack.

A pack that had fought beside one another through countless battles.

One forced the prey to expose an opening.

One prevented escape.

One delivered the killing blow.

Even with the authority granted by the Tier 7 sword...

Charles found himself retreating for the first time since the battle had begun.

High above the battlefield, the clash continued.

Golden sword light split the heavens.

Volcanic fire consumed the skies.

Invisible hurricanes tore apart the clouds.

Dimensional cracks appeared and disappeared without warning.

Every collision erased another section of the ruined capital.

Every exchange shook the heavens.

And for the first time...

The legendary commander of the kingdom realized that victory was steadily slipping farther from his grasp.

----

The battle raged on.

One hour.

Then another.

Neither side showed any intention of retreating.

The sky above the ruined capital had long since become unrecognizable.

The clouds had vanished completely, blown away by the countless collisions of overwhelming power. Gigantic scars stretched across the heavens where sword intent and elemental had repeatedly torn through the atmosphere. Fires still burned throughout the city below, while broken buildings continued collapsing from the lingering shockwaves.

The ordinary soldiers could no longer follow the battle.

To them, all they could see were flashes of golden light, streaks of emerald wind, rivers of molten magma, and black cracks opening and closing across the sky.

Every few moments...

Another explosion would shake the entire capital.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

Each impact caused countless people to instinctively look upward, praying that whatever was happening above would not fall onto them.

----

Hours passed.

Even monsters possessed limits.

Even heroes grew tired.

Charles’ breathing had become ragged.

His once spotless armor had almost completely fallen apart. Deep cuts covered his body from head to toe. Blood dripped steadily from his fingertips, staining the hilt of the ancient Tier 7 sword crimson.

The weapon still radiated overwhelming authority.

Golden laws continued flowing along its blade.

But the light was no longer as brilliant as before.

The sword demanded an enormous amount of Qi.

Although it acknowledged Charles as its wielder, it was never meant to be used continuously by someone below Tier 7.

Hour after hour of forcing out its true power had nearly emptied him.

His meridians burned. Every swing felt heavier than the last, and his vision had begun to blur.

Across from him, the three monster generals weren’t in much better condition.

Verila’s once magnificent emerald scales were stained with blood. Several portions of her wings had been torn apart by Charles’ sword, leaving countless holes through the membranes. Flying had become noticeably more difficult, yet she refused to land.

Grathum looked even worse.

Entire chunks of molten stone had been carved away from his body. One of his massive shoulders had nearly been severed, exposing the blazing magma flowing beneath his rocky skin. His gigantic hammer was covered with deep sword marks, evidence of how many direct clashes it had endured against the Tier 7 weapon.

Even Zurrak, the most elusive among them, had suffered heavily.

Numerous wounds covered the Void Warg’s enormous body. Several deep slashes reached all the way to the bone. His spatial abilities had allowed him to avoid countless fatal attacks, but not all of them.

Charles had simply been too dangerous.

Even working together, defeating him had come at a terrible cost.

For several long moments...

Neither side moved.

The wind swept across the ruined battlefield.

Broken pieces of stone drifted slowly through the air.

The four figures simply stared at one another.

Each silently recovering what little strength remained.

Charles lowered his sword slightly.

His grip had begun trembling. Not from fear, but from exhaustion.

He slowly looked down at the ancient blade in his hand.

The golden light surrounding it flickered weakly.

Then, it gradually faded.

The overwhelming pressure that had dominated the battlefield for hours finally disappeared.

Charles let out a slow breath.

His shoulders relaxed ever so slightly.

A bitter smile appeared on his face.

"So..."

"I’ve finally reached my limit."

The remaining Qi inside his body wasn’t enough to awaken the sword’s authority again.

Seeing the fading golden light, Verila finally landed upon a broken tower.

She exhaled heavily, one wing hanging limply behind her.

"It seems..."

"...he can’t use it anymore."

Grathum rested his enormous hammer on the ground.

The impact created another small crater beneath his feet.

Even standing appeared to require effort now.

The Magma Troll looked at Charles for a long moment.

There was no hatred in his eyes.

Only respect.

Few enemies had ever pushed the three of them this far while fighting together.

If they had faced him alone...

Any one of them would have died.

Grathum slowly spoke, his deep voice echoing across the ruined streets.

"Human."

Charles raised his head.

Grathum continued.

"Our king values talent above all else."

"He doesn’t care whether someone is born human, beast, serpent, or troll."

"He only cares whether they are capable."

The Magma Troll paused briefly.

Then he spoke with complete sincerity.

"You’ve earned our respect."

He pointed toward the battlefield below.

"Join us."

"You’ll receive everything you deserve."

"No chains."

"No humiliation."

"Our king rewards those who prove themselves."

Verila nodded quietly.

"His Majesty never wastes talent."

Even Zurrak, who rarely spoke during battle, calmly added,

"A warrior like you deserves a place beside the strong."

Silence filled the battlefield.

Charles looked at the three monsters before slowly turning his eyes toward the city behind him.

The capital had fallen.

The kingdom’s banners had been torn down.

Smoke rose from countless streets.

The soldiers he had commanded for decades now lay scattered across the battlefield.

Many would never rise again.

He remembered his younger days.

The oath he had sworn.

The king who had entrusted him with the defense of the kingdom.

The comrades who had long since died.

The countless years he had devoted to protecting this land.

Slowly...

Charles smiled. It was a weary smile. A lonely smile.

Then he tightened his grip around the sword one final time.

"I appreciate the offer."

His voice was calm.

Steady.

"But..."

He looked directly into Grathum’s eyes.

"I was born in this kingdom."

"I lived for this kingdom."

"And when my time comes..."

"I will die in this kingdom."

He slowly raised his sword once more.

Though its golden radiance had vanished, the blade remained perfectly straight.

Just like the man holding it.

Charles’ eyes became incomparably resolute.

"It is better for me to die protecting my homeland..."

"...than to live serving those my people fear."

He pointed the blade toward the three monster generals.

"I do not hate you."

"You fought honorably."

"But I cannot betray everything I have spent my life defending."

A heavy silence followed.

Grathum closed his eyes for a brief moment before letting out a deep sigh.

"I expected that answer."