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Chapter 160

Caspian made his move.

He gathered energy into his fist, aiming for Fifth Elder\'s throat.

Fifth Elder was startled.

“Eek!”

In a panic, Fifth Elder hastily created a mana barrier.

Bang!

“Gah!”

The barrier was useless against Caspian’s blow.

Even though the Priests of Radiance tried healing spells, they were ineffective—Fifth Elder’s mana was in chaos.

Black blood gushed from Fifth Elder\'s mouth.

“S-someone stop him!”

Overcome by the fear of death, Fifth Elder crawled away in desperation.

But Caspian wasn’t about to let him escape.

“I will make sure to end your miserable life.”

As Caspian moved to strike him down, the Destruction Knights stepped in.

However, the situation had shifted.

Previously, all their focus had been on Caspian alone, but now their attention was scattered.

Their attacks were less coordinated than before.

Six greatswords came crashing down toward him.

Spinning on his heel, Caspian deflected all six.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

“Ugh!”

“Argh!”

The six knights were flung backward in an instant.

Seizing this opportunity, Caspian brought his heel down on the Fifth Elder.

Boom!

The ground caved in from the impact.

Fifth Elder couldn’t even scream; his upper body was gone.

His tenacious life had finally come to an end.

Fifth Elder\'s subordinates trembled in fear.

To them, Fifth Elder was akin to a god.

Now that he was dead, how could they not be terrified?

To them, Caspian appeared as a monstrous being.

“Pull yourselves together!”

“If we join forces, we can defeat this poisonous beast!”

“Everyone, chant the Hymn of the Sun!”

The Priests of Radiance began to recite their prayers.

A sacred light descended from the heavens.

This light strengthened them.

Then, a massive hand emerged from the sky.

“It’s the Hand of God!”

The hand, a divine power meant to annihilate evil, was one of the abilities of the Meyer Family.

The enormous hand was slowly descending toward Orchid Kingdom.

Caspian frowned.

He was certain that if that hand struck, the Orchid Kingdom would be reduced to rubble.

“What terrifying humans.”

He realized that leaving them alive was not an option.

Many nations had been wiped out by the Hand of God.

In the past, he hadn’t cared since it wasn’t his country. But now that he faced it directly, the problem was clear.

If one’s nation\'s fate could be decided by their whims, wasn’t that pure tyranny?

If they disliked someone or were disobeyed, they would destroy entire nations.

“The real enemies aren’t the mutated monsters—they’re the followers of the House of the Sun.”

Caspian’s heart overflowed with hostility toward them.

He moved again to counter their divine technique.

Pushing off the ground, he charged toward the gathered Priests of Radiance and struck.

Boom!

Caspian attempted to collapse the ground beneath his enemies, but his efforts were of no use.

A golden barrier blocked his attack.

“Let’s see if this barrier can withstand my fist,” Caspian growled, unleashing a relentless series of punches.

The barrier quivered violently under the assault.

These were no ordinary strikes—they carried the toxic poison energy infused with every punch.

The toxicity clawed at the barrier, trying to break through.

Inside, one of the Priests of Radiance coughed up blood and collapsed.

As Caspian\'s relentless assault continued, more priests began to lose consciousness one by one.

Yet, even as they fell, they refused to cease their prayers.

Crack!

Finally, the barrier shattered.

It couldn’t withstand Caspian’s ferocious onslaught.

The Destruction Knights rushed to stop him, but their efforts were futile.

Caspian struck the barrier again, landing another powerful blow.

Crash!

The sound of shattering glass echoed.

He stomped toward the center of the Priests of Radiance.

Boom!

The impact swept the priests off their feet.

At last, their prayer chant came to an end.

However, the divine Hand of God descending from the heavens didn’t stop—it only slowed down.

“What’s going on? Isn’t that hand something they summoned?” Caspian muttered, puzzled.

He had assumed the Priests of Radiance controlled the divine hand. Despite their defeat, the Hand of God remained, looming ominously above.

---

Meanwhile...

Kane could see the Hand of God hovering in the sky.

“They intend to wipe Orchid off the map,” he muttered grimly.

Although its descent had slowed dramatically, it was still coming down, destined to destroy the Orchid Kingdom unless stopped.

He clenched his fists.

‘**It must be stopped.**’

“That guy is maintaining the Hand of God,” Kane observed.

The culprit was Gestel, the commander of the Solar Knights.

As an eighth-class powerhouse, Gestel exuded overwhelming confidence. Even Caspian’s fury seemed insignificant in his eyes.

“Extermination? To me, it’s nothing more than mere prey. They’ll realize that soon enough,” Gestel smirked.

With the power of an eighth-class warrior and the might of oblivion energy at his disposal, even the likes of Caspian who was ranked in the top 3 among the twelve-star lords, posed little threat to him.

But this arrogance applied only to Caspian—not to Kane.

“I need to end this quickly,” Kane resolved.

He gripped the BloodSky Blades tightly,

Then he charged forward, gathering blood mana as he ran.

The air around him thickened with blood—from monsters, death fiends, and even fallen knights of the House of the Sun.

He collected their blood without stopping,

Then, Kane swung the BloodSky blades causing the droplets of blood to spray outward.

The speeding droplets shot forward like magic bullets—hundreds of them at once.

These blood bullets, which had pierced through death fiends and Blood Owls, struck the Solar Knights directly.

BOOM!

Yet, Gestel blocked the blood droplets of the Blood Sword with effortless ease.

Passing Mikhail, Kane spoke calmly.

“Handle things from behind.”

With those words, he surged straight toward Gestel.

“How dare you!”

The vice commander of the Solar Knights stepped forward, but Gestel raised a hand to stop him.

“No need. It’s been a while since I’ve had a bit of fun.”

Dismounting his warhorse, Gestel clashed with Kane directly.

Crash!

Violet energy collided fiercely with a golden aura, creating a deafening hum.

“Impressive. It’s been a long time since anyone has withstood one of my strikes,” Gestel remarked, a smile playing on his lips.

He hadn’t encountered anyone who could withstand his attack—aside from his lord, the First Star.

Yet here was a young man, barely more than a novice, matching his strength. It was enough to earn Gestel’s genuine admiration.

“Seems like you haven’t faced anyone strong in a while,” Kane retorted.

Gestel chuckled. “Your confidence is admirable. But remember, there’s always a higher sky above the one you see.”

Gestel’s sword began to glow gold.

The sword energy it emitted stretched and grew longer by the moment.

He swung this massive golden blade toward Kane.

Boom!

Kane crossed the two bloodsky blades to block the strike.

Once again, Gestel was surprised.

This time, he had used considerable power—but Kane deflected it effortlessly.

A muscle near Gestel’s eye twitched, betraying his annoyance.

Irritated, Gestel began swinging his glowing sword wildly.

Kane responded in kind, unleashing his own sword energy.

The clash of their weapons created a flurry of strikes, crossing dozens of times in mere moments.

Crash! Bang! Boom!

The sheer force of their battle caused the ground around them to collapse into rubble.

After over a hundred exchanges, Kane stepped back and spoke.

“Relax your shoulders.Your skill isn’t as impressive as you think.”

Gestel smirked coldly. “If you’re trying to provoke me, it won’t work. That’s a trick for amateurs.”

“Oh? Then why couldn’t you first deal with the ‘Guardian Lord’, my father, if you’re so confident?”

At the mention of the Guardian Lord, Gestel’s expression twisted in rage.

The title was a forbidden topic within the House of the Sun. Kane had struck a nerve.

Yet Kane wasn’t done provoking him.

“When I first met my father, he exuded a strength trash like you seems to lack.”

“HOW DARE YOU!” Gestel roared.

The suggestion that the Guardian Lord was superior enraged him beyond measure.

“I was going to let you off lightly, but you’ve crossed the line!”

Gestel’s sword energy surged again.

This time, his attacks were different.

Each strike carried a time-delay effect, moving so fast that the sound of his swings lagged behind.

“Do I still seem weaker than the Guardian Lord to you?” Gestel yelled as he attacked relentlessly, giving Kane no chance to counter.

Kane focused entirely on defense, enduring Gestel’s relentless assault.

From an outsider\'s perspective, it looked as though Kane was being pushed to his limit.

"That’s our commander!"

"That fool dared provoke the commander and is now rushing toward his demise."

"It’s as we expected—no one but the Lord can rival him on this continent."

The Solar Knights beamed with pride, their admiration for Gestel unwavering.

He was an unparalleled force, a self-declared second-in-command who wielded his overwhelming power solely for the House of the Sun.

Despite his potential to overthrow nations, Gestel chose to serve a higher purpose, dedicating his strength entirely to their cause.

It was this steadfast will that made him so revered by his followers.

"Still, that guy is holding up better than I thought. Withstanding the commander’s attacks is no small feat."

"True. Anyone else would’ve been cleaved in two by now."

"Now I’m curious—how much longer can he hold out?"

At that moment, the vice commander barked at his comrades.

"Get your heads back in the fight, fools! The enemy is still before us!"

The Solar Knights quickly returned to the battlefield.

The Golden Dragon, Chrysalis, and the red-haired man had nearly annihilated the death fiends and Blood Owls.

Now it was the Solar Knights’ turn to act.

Several knights had already been deployed earlier, though many were injured in the initial clashes.

To maintain their reputation as the strongest elite force of the House of the Sun, they needed to subdue both the red-haired man and the dragon.

"Let’s finish this quickly and return to watch the show."

"The commander might end his fight before we’re done."

"Think so?"

"Then we better end this first."

With that, the Solar Knights charged toward Mikhail and the Golden Dragon.

---

The ground cracked and mountains crumbled under the sheer force of Kane and Gestel’s ongoing battle.

What had initially seemed like a brief encounter had now turned into an extended duel.

"I told you before," Kane said, his voice calm but firm. "You’re not as strong as you think."

Only Kane could utter such words to someone like Gestel.

Gestel was undeniably strong—comparable even to Duke Carl, but something vital was missing.

Gestel’s arrogance had begun to erode his precision.

"So, you truly have a death wish," he sneered, his golden eyes glowing with intensity.

The moment his blade moved, a second golden sword manifested above Kane, descending with crushing force.

Boom!

Kane deflected it with his BloodSky blades, but the golden sword refused to dissipate.

This wasn’t just any weapon—it was the Sword of Divine Punishment, following on the heels of the Hand of God.

This was Gestel’s true power. To him, ordinary swordsmanship was mere child’s play compared to this divine skill.

Distracted by the descending divine blade, Kane narrowly dodged Gestel’s advancing sword energy, which aimed directly to cleave him in two.

"It’s over!" Gestel proclaimed, a faint smile of triumph gracing his lips.

---

In that decisive moment, a sinister force erupted from Kane’s body.

A surge of purple mana expanded, deflecting the sword energy entirely.

"What?!"

Gestel was shocked, his confidence was shaken. Not only had his attack been repelled, but the menacing purple aura was steadily gnawing at him, seeking to consume his power.

Recognizing the threat, he recalled the Sword of Divine Punishment hanging above Kane and redirected it in front of himself for protection.