Chapter 181  

Count Chris was taken aback by the sudden change. Clenching his fists and swaying a little, he yelled, "Count Monte!"

"Choi Yu-Seong, you're right. Two suns rising in the same sky would only burn each other out," said Count Monte as he pointed his sword toward Count Chris. He added, "I was shortsighted. Will you accept my request for reconciliation now?"

Hearing those words, Count Chris became anxious. He nervously bit his lower lip as his gaze shifted from the resolute Count Monte to Yu-Seong. He quickly said, "Foreigner, I mean, Choi Yu-Seong, right? I'm sorry for my mistake. My greed got the best of me, and I made an error in judgment. But think carefully. Count Monte has already turned his back on you once. Is there any reason to believe he won't do it again?"

"But, Count Chris, it wasn't me but you who drew the sword,” said Count Monte.

"If I really intended to kill you, would I have needed to prolong the time like this?" asked Count Christ.

"Enough, Count Chris. The more you mock me, the more foolish you appear," said Count Monte.

Listening to the Counts’ conversation, Yu-Seong snorted and said, "You both are aware that, from my perspective, neither of you possess any trustworthy qualities, right?"

"I swear on my honor..." started Count Chris.

"I swear on my position and faith..." added Count Monte.

"Alright, let's settle it this way," suggested Yu-Seong. He interrupted the two Counts and gestured toward the Dragon Egg that was lodged between the rocks. He said, "I'll side with whoever retrieves the Dragon Egg first."

After listening to Yu-Seong's suggestion, Count Monte and Count Chris immediately responded in their own way.

"What...?" exclaimed Count Monte.

"Are you commanding us now?" asked Count Chris.

"As you both are aware, a Dragon can only choose one person as its owner. Moreover, it's widely known that a Dragon Egg is indestructible. That means, if left unclaimed, a new owner might be born in an unforeseen location. So, who do you think can handle the remaining Dragon Egg the most cleanly?"

Yu-Seong pointed to his own face with his index finger. "I think it's just me, the foreigner, in this situation..."

Then, Yu-Seong smiled and tilted his head slightly. "If you're still confused about who has the right to choose..."

Before Yu-Seong could even finish his sentence, Count Chris, who had made up his mind about something, ran out first. He said, "Promise to keep your word.”

Count Monte, with an anxious expression on his face, ran after Count Chris toward the group of Gargoyles.

As they were knight lords who personally went out to the battlefield, their swordsmanship was excellent. Moreover, they could swing their swords with mana, allowing them to end the fight against the stone-bodied Gargoyles quickly and with minimal physical exertion. This was as long as they were determined.

‘As long as they work together.’

Yu-Seong smiled inwardly.

When Count Chris, who had run ahead, tried to bisect a Gargoyle’s head with his sword, Count Monte, who had desperately followed him, suddenly kicked him in the back.

"Keugh!" Count Chris, caught off guard by the sudden attack, let out a groan of pain as he hit the ground.

He quickly crouched down and prepared to defend himself against the approaching Gargoyles, but the dangerous situation he had anticipated did not come to pass. Instead, all the Gargoyles charged towards Count Monte, who was running toward the Dragon Egg in his place.

Thanks to this, Count Monte was stuck in a bad situation. He swung his sword around in a panic while Count Chris, who had regained his senses, stood up and shouted with a red face, "You coward…!"

As anger burned in his blue eyes, Count Chris swung his sword toward Count Monte.

"Keugh-!"

Surrounded by the pack of Gargoyles and unable to defend himself against Count Chris’ surprise attack, Count Monte was hit in the chest. He fell backward with a loud thud, blood spurting through his helmet. Count Chris kicked Count Monte's chin lightly and stopped for a moment before rushing toward the Dragon Egg.

‘It’s a competition that we ended up doing because of the foreigner, but…’

The Gargoyles, who had the role to protect the Dragon Egg, completely altered the course of the battle between the two knights of similar skill.

‘If the Gargoyles had come to me when Monte first cowardly attacked me, the story would have been different.’

Since the Gargoyles were dedicated to protecting the Dragon Egg, they had all selected Count Monte as their next target, indicating that Count Chris was at risk of ending up like Count Monte if he advanced any further.

Therefore, Count Chris smiled as he stood in place, watching half of the Gargoyles rush toward him. While it might be a bit challenging to fight with ten of them alone, he could easily handle five of them in an instant.

‘Monte is seriously injured, so he is busy defending. I am confident that I will win this battle.’

Count Chris ran toward the Gargoyles and smashed the heads of two of them.

Suddenly, one of the Gargoyles attacking Count Monte was hit by Yu-Seong's spear from behind and fell to the ground. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Count Monte stepped on the head of another Gargoyle attacking him and shattered it.

Then, Yu-Seong quickly finished off another Gargoyle with his spear.

Count Chris also managed to take down one more Gargoyle, but he couldn’t help feeling that the situation was unfair. He exclaimed, "Why are you helping Count Monte, foreigner? Are you intending to stay with the side you originally chose...?"

"Well, isn't it boring when the battle is too one-sided?" replied Yu-Seong casually. Then, he teamed up with Count Monte to defeat another Gargoyle.

Now, there were only three Gargoyles left, two of which were close to Count Chris.

"Anyway, thanks," said Count Monte with a low growl as if gritting his teeth.

He rushed toward Count Chris. The last remaining Gargoyle fired a shockwave attack behind him, but Count Monte did not stop his movements despite the blood streaming down his ear. And soon enough, he charged toward Count Chris with a reckless rush and slammed into the man’s chest.

Bang-!?

“Kraaagh-!”

With a loud, piercing scream that echoed throughout the battlefield, Count Chris rolled on the ground.

When the other Count let out a deafening cry, Count Monte saw his chance. With bloodshot eyes, he seized the opportunity and rushed toward Count Chris again. He knocked the man down and stepped on his face.

“Chris, you bastard!”

The pack of Gargoyles pursued the Counts, attacking with sonic waves and physical blows, but Count Monte, undeterred and covered in blood, raised his sword high.

Count Chris saw the gleaming blade approaching the gap in his armor and shook his head from side to side. He shouted desperately, “Wait, wait a minute! Something's wrong...!”

Before Count Chris could finish his sentence, Count Monte's sword pierced his throat.

“Krugkk...!”

As Count Chris spewed out a mouthful of blood and his head twisted to the side, Count Monte swung his arm and grabbed one of the Gargoyles behind him, throwing it to the ground and crushing its head under his foot. Then, he hurled his sword into the air, and it pierced the chest of a Gargoyle firing a shockwave attack in the sky.

Finally, Count Monte jumped high in the air and landed on the head of a Gargoyle that was crossing his path. He wrapped his thick arms around its neck.

“Kraaaa-!”

With his face covered in blood, Count Monte let out a bloodcurdling scream that echoed along with the crunching of the stone.

With that, it was over. Count Monte, who had taken down three Gargoyles in one breath, didn't hesitate for a moment even as he fell to the ground with them. Once he got up on his knees, he yelled, "Foreigner, I won!" Watching from a distance, Yu-Seong couldn't help but click his tongue inwardly.

‘If I had faced him head-on, it would have been really difficult.’

Despite being covered in blood and looking like he had no strength left, there was still a sense of determination shining in Count Monte's eyes. Even at this point, it was clear that he could continue the battle.

‘Heh, so Count Monte becomes stronger the more he's in danger.’

After all, there were many types of strength. And it seemed that Count Monte's power was even greater in dangerous situations. If Yu-Seong were to encounter Count Monte as a boss monster, Count Monte would undoubtedly be one of the worst opponents to face.

"Hurry up and bring me the Dragon Egg. Give one to me and take one for yourself, whichever you choose..."

Count Monte began to speak, but Yu-Seong urgently shouted, "Behind you, Count Monte!"

"What...?" Count Monte exclaimed in surprise as he turned his head.

At that moment, a blue-tinged mana surged forth from a sword and sliced through Count Monte’s neck in an instant.

With eyes wide open, Count Monte's headless body sprayed blood and collapsed to the ground. Standing behind Count Monte was seemingly dead Count Chris, who had become the knight of death.

"Undead...!" exclaimed Yu-Seong, his eyes widening in surprise.

- Monte... That arrogant bastard!

Count Chris, standing in front of the corpse of the dead Count Monte, released a macabre voice from his twisted neck and burst out into loud laughter.

- Hahaha-!

Then, slowly turning his head, Count Chris fixed his gaze on Yu-Seong.

- Foreigner...!

Count Chris’ anger was not only directed toward Count Monte.

‘Honestly, there's no way I can handle this alone…’

Yu-Seong pulled out his spear with a tense expression. He shouted, "Kim Do-Jin, help me!"

Do-Jin appeared behind Count Chris, who was charging toward them, and said in a cold voice, "I've been waiting for this, Choi Yu-Seong."

And the fierce battle began.

***

The battle lasted for over an hour. Count Chris, who had turned into an undead, was powerful. Although Yu-Seong and Do-Jin managed to heal their injuries to some extent, their bodies were not in perfect condition, making the battle inevitably long.

But in the end, with Yu-Seong's spear piercing his chest and Do-Jin's sword stabbing his head, Count Chris, unable to satisfy his grudge, became a pile of dust and disappeared from the world completely.

“Gasp… Huh…”

“Gasp…”

Yu-Seong and Do-Jin, who both fell to the ground at the same time, looked at each other.

“Damn the second phase,” said Yu-Seong.

Do-Jin smirked at Yu-Seong and replied, "You said to trust you, and your art of persuasion was quite impressive."

"I actually thought it would be a little dangerous..."

In any case, they had succeeded. Yu-Seong let out a satisfied smile and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

If they had to face both Count Monte and Count Chris at once, the situation would have been even more terrible, considering how difficult it was to handle just one of them. After all, the two Counts were not figures designed to be fought on the 9th floor of the Tower. However, Yu-Seong had managed to bend the rules, and the result was superb.