Evading the Hero’s Party with Full Effort

Chapter 128

Ch.128 Crush the Imperial Capital!  

News of the King of the Dead’s army attacking the capital gathered us all to witness the battle.  

The Empire’s forces held surprisingly well.  

Soon, the King faced Scarlet—and encountered Auros.  

Seeing the bosses of ‘Dragon War’ and ‘King of the Dead’ meet felt surreal—a rare clash of world’s strongest.  

“Hmm… who do you think wins?”  

Technically top-tier, but Roy likely holds the advantage—no, I’m certain.  

As the series’ true final boss, the King of the Dead surpasses Auros in stats and possesses Regress—losing is unimaginable.  

“Auros loses.”  

Icira’s sharp gaze hit me after I spoke.  

“Are you taking the Dragon Lord’s name too lightly?”  

“No—I respect him deeply.”  

Among all non-main-story bosses (excluding Demon King and Roy), none surpass Auros.  

Which means Roy’s strength is absurdly overpowered.  

“I can’t fathom Lord Auros losing—even with Regress.”  

Her trusting eyes made me shrug.  

“If Auros wins, it’d be easier for me.”  

Honestly—if Auros won, I wouldn’t need to strain my brain devising ways to beat Roy.  

—Heh heh. This excites me. I longed to test my strength!  

The King smirked coldly.  

—Heh heh. Must I truly intervene?  

Auros brushed off his provocation effortlessly.  

I expected him to get dragged in—but he dodged smoothly.  

—Hah? Does the Dragon Lord fear me?  

—Fighting one with Regress is burdensome.  

—H-how did you—?!  

The tables turned instantly.  

The King looked flustered; Auros grew more relaxed.  

—Living long reveals many things.  

At Auros’s calm words, the King (in Selena’s body) scowled.  

—Damn… if you know, then the Rival surely does too?  

—Who can say?  

Auros taunted back. The King locked eyes with him.  

—So you’ve found a way to stop me?  

—Perhaps. It may be fate ordained by the gods.  

—Hah! Hahaha! Fate shall reunite you all with your lost father, granting eternal peace!  

Roy dropped the Church of Death’s signature line.  

“Bro… what does that even mean?”  

When Nekhuf asked curiously, I waved it off.  

“Nonsense. They’re all duped by the God of Death.”  

The God of Death grants no peace—only soul annihilation and puppeteering followers.  

His plan: make all life worship only him, dominating other gods with stolen divine power.  

“Don’t they know what kind of God of Death is?”  

Nekhuf looked baffled.  

“Shouldn’t we tell those Church of Death followers they’re wrong?”  

“Maybe. But after centuries of persecution for worshiping him, would they believe he’s evil?”  

In ‘Destiny,’ they never accepted Death as evil—  

thoroughly brainwashed.  

Well… nothing to be done.  

“So Hans—what now? Head to the capital?”  

Icira’s question made me pause.  

If this were the first loop, no need to go.  

But if it’s a repeat?  

If Auros dies and becomes an undead, he’d be terrifyingly powerful.  

I have to prevent that.  

“Let’s go. We must stop Auros from becoming undead.”  

—Zzrt.  

Icira couldn’t retort—just shot me a glare, as if saying Auros could never lose.  

That showed how deeply dragons revered him.  

“You’re not going?”  

“Tch…”  

She waved her hand, chanting:  

“Teleport.”  

We instantly appeared on the capital’s battlements.  

Leah and Cecilia greeted us immediately.  

“Master?”  

“Priest Hans!”  

“What are you doing here?”  

Auros’s brow twitched slightly—  

it might seem like we doubted him.  

(True, but I couldn’t say that to proud Auros.)  

“Ha ha! Long time no see! We came… to deal with Roy.”  

The capital must not fall—  

that’s game over.  

“Tch—no hello for your student?”  

—Thud.  

Leah kicked my calf petulantly, but Arbiter’s Armor nullified the pain.  

“There, there. Been well?”  

“Hmph!”  

She turned away haughtily.  

“How have you been, Priest Hans?”  

Cecilia approached, smiling sweetly.  

Wait—weren’t they supposed to act hostile toward each other?  

Their odd harmony struck me as strange—  

when suddenly:  

—Flash!  

“Holy Spirit’s Flame!”  

Cecilia’s quick divine magic wrapped the battlements in gold, blocking and extinguishing a violet blast.  

“Rival… long time no see.”  

At Roy’s voice, I peered over the rampart.  

Cheap shot, attacking first…  

I retorted by firing ‘Equality’ at Roy.  

—Bang!  

—Bang!  

The King dodged instantly.  

“Well met. But attacking right after greeting? Rude.”  

“Consider it a welcome gift.”  

Annoyed by his smug smirk, I snapped:  

“So how many times have you died this loop?”  

“Heh heh. I’m not so weak as to die from this.”  

“Yeah, you’re amazing.”  

Silence fell between us.  

I had every asset ready:  

Auros, the entire Hero Party, Icira, Nekhuf…  

This lineup could easily crush the King of the Dead—overkill, even.  

Damn… he won’t lose, right?  

But this world isn’t a game.  

If someone dies—  

Scarlet or another—trouble’s guaranteed.  

Worse: Hans and Roy might scramble to reanimate the corpse, fighting for control.  

If I don’t seize it… he will.  

Losing power isn’t an option.  

Yet morally, using friends’ corpses felt wrong—  

Leah, Cecilia, Mia, Nekhuf, Auros, Icira…  

Damn it… what do you want from me?  

I steeled my heart, hiding my turmoil.  

‘Everyone surviving is the right path.’

‘I can’t hesitate when the moment comes.’

Hesitation means losing command—and that’s worse than death.  

“Rival.”  

The King called as I resolved myself.  

“What?”  

“What if we both retreat? No need for a brawl here.”  

That felt off.  

Why withdraw now? He’s in a strong position!  

Unless…  

“You can’t beat us, can you?”  

After countless Regress loops, he’d given up.  

Seeing him stay silent confirmed it—I relaxed slightly.  

Right—Regress isn’t invincible.  

Players get hundreds of saves, but retrying endlessly is exhausting, tedious, infuriating.  

Who’d keep playing after seeing ‘Game Over’ a hundred times?  

Even with immortality, mental fatigue sets in.  

Ah… so that’s his weakness.  

An overwhelming power gap can make victory impossible.  

Now I noticed it—on Selena’s face (no, Roy’s)—pure exhaustion.  

Foolish me, realizing this only now.  

Regress inevitably drains the mind.  

I mocked him:  

“With Regress, this is all you’ve got? That’s not how you use it.”  

“You—!”  

Roy bared his teeth, radiating killing intent.  

I aimed ‘Equality’—  

—Bang!  

—Bang!  

—Bang!  

As I unloaded shots, his fatigue grew clearer. I roared:  

“Today’s your death day! Everyone—attack!”  

No sooner had I spoken than Scarlet hurled her dagger at the King.  

He dodged—but she’d already circled behind, pressuring him.  

Amid rapid exchanges, Scarlet leapt back—  

just as Mia, Nekhuf, and Nephert’s arrows reached the King.  

“You pests!”  

He deflected them with Altarion’s Staff in his left hand.  

“I’ll show you the apocalypse! Meteor!”  

As meteors summoned from the sky began to fall—  

Auros softly intoned:  

“Dispel.”  

The meteors shot back into the heavens. I gave Auros a thumbs-up.  

“Excellent timing, Lord.”  

“Trivial.”  

“Tch!”  

Seeing the King cornered, I thought: ‘This might work.’

Altarion’s Staff is overpowered—but flawed.  

It enables all magic, yet fails against dragon Dispel (dragons are magic’s origin).  

Moreover, the King relies on swordsmanship, black magic, and voodoo—  

all countered by Levi’s Dagger and Cecilia’s divine power.  

At least one summon can be eliminated.  

(He can summon three boss-tier monsters like ‘Apocalypse Serpent.’)  

Each is near-Demon King level—so removing one now, or beheading the King, would be ideal.  

I don’t know how to kill him permanently—  

but even if I fail, I’ll strip one summon.  

With that resolve, I charged.  

“Tch! Soldiers—crush the Imperial Capital!”  

The King’s roar ignited chaotic battle.

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