“Hold fast!”

Grid’s movement speed reached the maximum as he escaped from the Abyss. The dukes’ condition was severe, and he used all types of means and methods to escape. Grid wanted to return to Reinhardt and ask Ruby to treat them.

“Get lost!” 

Grid killed the guards who blocked the way. His fourth stats awakening meant his attack power had increased by leaps and bounds. Every time the cooldown time ended, he used Quick Movements to overwhelm the guards while holding Basara in his arms.

“Truly a great sword!” Ke shouted while following Grid aboard Overgeared Corn. Saliva splashed from his mouth every time, causing Overgeared Corn’s annoyance to reach the peak. He had to carry a male on his back, and this male was even splashing dirty saliva? Eventually, Overgeared Corn was unable to endure his anger and sped up, causing Ke’s face to turn white.

“H-Hik! I’m dead! I’m going to die because of this horny thing!”

The stalactites hanging like icicles from the ceiling started to break. It was the aftermath of a collision with Ke’s wide face.

“A-Aigoo, this guy...”

The ‘dead’ Ke finally fell flat. His face was swollen as he clung to Overgeared Corn’s back and held his breath. Only then did the disheveled Overgeared Corn follow Grid along the safe path. It was a breathless advance.

“Pant... Pant...”

Then the group finally succeeded in leaving the Abyss.

“You must have suffered a lot. I will go to find my senior knight and finish the quest. Please don’t worry about the rewards and hurry to leave.”

“Thank you for this work in many ways.”

“What are you saying? I’m the grateful one. Thanks to Grid, I cleared the quest. I am greatly indebted to you.” There was no exaggeration in Resh’s words.

This was a quest he shared with Grid and Coke, but he never would’ve been able to clear it without them. The demonkin Biplonz guarded the prison, and Sword Duke Limit had emerged after Biplonz was defeated. It would have been impossible to defeat them with the power of three high rankers. No, he wouldn’t have even reached the prison. It would have been hard to break through the guards when there was a narrow path that only one person could pass through at a time. This had been really good luck. The relationship that he developed with Coke through the Chivalry community...

“I will surely repay your grace.”

“First, buy us a meal. In any case, it is easy to meet people living in the same country.” Coke smiled at Resh.

He wanted to get closer to Resh. Being in the same community meant they had the same interests. After all, Resh also had great strength, so it would be good if they became closer. Resh accepted it happily. “I’ll treat you several times. It is an honor to be able to meet you.”

“If you meet us and get caught by Peak Sword, there will be a big mess. He will swear at you the moment he knows you are Korean.”

“Haha... I’ll have to bear it.”

“Good. Then I’ll see you next time.”

Grid also liked Resh. He was a good player who gave off a great impression and had a humble personality. Grid wanted to continue the relationship with Resh and invite him to the Overgeared Guild. However, it wasn’t possible right now. Resh also had his own path.

Grid left these regrets behind and urged Coke, “Let’s hurry, Coke.”

The situation would become even harder if Edan’s army came forward. They couldn’t waste any more time. Yet at the moment that Grid turned his back to Resh... There was suddenly a harsh noise, and the ground shook violently. Soon after, a formation of horses appeared, covering the horizon. It wasn’t thousands but tens of thousands of horses.

They were cavalry. Considering that the cost of raising one cavalryman was equal to the cost of raising 30 infantry, it was an unbelievable sight. The ranks of cavalry, that were so tight not even a needle could pass through, approached Grid’s group.

“An army of the empire!”

“I knew it would be like this.”

Coke was dazed while Ke showed a scathing reaction. Ke reached out to the tight-faced Grid. “Don’t you know that the empire is an empire for a reason? The atrocities of the empire stemmed from its thoroughness. It is impossible to escape from the Abyss in the first place. Now let me see your sword. I want to see the sword before I am caught again.”

“Break through,” Grid just ignored Ke and gave Coke an order. Yet he stopped as he was about to summon Noe and his other pets.

“Lord Grenhal!”

“Lady Basara!”

“Morse, this idiot!”

The tens of thousands of cavalrymen approaching Grid’s party were the soldiers of the three dukes. In other words, armed forces of a noble entered the capital where the emperor lived. It was a taboo. This alone was a sin. That’s why they were late. The retainers of Grenhal, Basara, and Morse rushed forward and knelt down tearfully in front of the dukes.

“I sensed something, but I couldn’t run over right away!”

“Forgive our incompetence!”

“The imperial guards are chasing us! We need to escape straight away!”

“Morse, this asshole! I told you to come back to the estate first! You went through this mess because you didn’t listen to me!!”

“...”

Who was this woman who kept swearing at Morse? Could a retainer show such an attitude to a duke of the empire? Grid turned away from the seemingly angry woman and carefully laid Basara down.

“I am Overgeared King Grid.”

“I know.” An old man called Lanford came forward. Armed with old armor, he represented the army of the Basara family, and his name flashed with a gold color. Not only that, there seemed to be a named NPC in each duke’s household. “On the day that Duke Basara returned from the Ruins of the War God, she told me about Your Majesty through magic communication.”

The other dukes’ retainers were also aware of Grid. All of them respectfully bowed to Grid.

“This time, Your Majesty rescued everyone. We are deeply grateful.”

They weren’t stupid, so it was easy for them to guess the situation. Various circumstances explained the situation.

“Thank you very much! The Grenhal Duchy will never forget today’s grace!”

“Thank you very much! The Basara Duchy will never forget today’s grace!”

“Thank you very much. The same is true for the Morse Duchy.

Tens of thousands of soldiers cried out as the dukes’ retainers bowed in front of King Grid. They were cries filled with various emotions. The plains shook, and sounds echoed through the entrance of the Abyss.

“I just helped my friends,” Grid responded as modestly as possible. In fact, he wanted to express his heart, but it wasn’t the right time. He should be patient for a more dramatic production.

“King Grid...” Grenhal was touched by Grid’s words without knowing the situation and trembled. Edan had blinded him, but Grenhal could imagine Grid’s dignified appearance in his head. This was a king of great character. It was obvious how much the people of the Overgeared Kingdom would love Grid.

“Sh... Shit...” Morse was unable to bear with the pain from his cut off limbs, and his eyes were red. This wasn’t the emperor their families had loyally served for generations. A person whom they had only known for a few days had saved them... Morse’s thoughts were complicated and confused in many ways.

Meanwhile, Basara was still dazed. Just like in the prison, she stared at the distant sky with her mouth open. In this midst of this atmosphere, the knights urged them, “We have to hurry back to the estate.”

They had to leave here quickly. They couldn’t fathom how things would turn out if there were a clash with imperial forces.

“Send a letter to the Rebecca Church right away. If the elders of the church take action, the dukes’ bodies might be restored a bit.”

Then it happened when the retainers were urging the soldiers to take care of the dukes.

“Let’s go to Reinhardt,” Grid spoke up.

“Why Reinhardt?”

Reinhardt was the capital of the Overgeared Kingdom. Why should they go there? In front of the confused retainers, Grid unwittingly made a proud expression as he explained, “My sister is the Saintess.”

“...!!”

“My sister will be able to heal them.”

“...!!”

“Of course, it will be very hard for my sister, but she will definitely make the sacrifice for my friends. It will be very hard, but she will surely do it.”

It was finally time to show off.

Grid prompted an answer from the astonished retainers, “Will you believe in me?”

“O-Of course!”

It was a situation where every straw needed to be grasped. Additionally, Overgeared King Grid could be trusted. So, the retainers nodded immediately.

Coke clicked his tongue inwardly. ‘People will be freaked out again...’

Resh and Ke were terrified.

‘The dukes’ soldiers, who might be charged with treason, are willing to go to the Overgeared Kingdom... The flow is unusual.’

‘Are the nobles of the empire so easily swayed by the king of another nation? Has the world gone crazy after decades?’

***

“It is really annoying,” 4th Imperial Prince Edan murmured. His face had long been distorted. “Why are you involved in imperial affairs?”

In the downstream of the Ballua River, Edan—who had been tracking Rachel back to her estate—had been very happy. If he succeeded in capturing Rachel, all his factors of anxiety would be eliminated. However, the plan failed because of the interference of a third party.

The Sword Saint—the black-haired man who wasn’t even on the same level as Piaro—had appeared to help Rachel. He knew the weaknesses of the magic machine and spread out his sword energy like clouds, interrupting them and dragging out the time. It had been a long time since the magic machines reached the limit of their operating duration and stopped working.

Edan had to pull out a sword and deal with Rachel himself. He was confident in winning a one-on-one match, but Kraugel’s swordsmanship—which contained a mysterious ‘power despite being weak’—kept Edan at a disadvantage.

‘I shouldn’t have sent Limit.’

Just before arriving here, the detection magic identifying intruders in the Abyss was activated. Edan was forced to send the fastest moving Limit. That was the problem. It would’ve been better to go back after taking care of Rachel together. In any case, the Abyss was guarded by Biplonz, and he thought that was enough.

‘I think this matter has become severely twisted.’ Edan clicked his tongue and launched his red energy.

The target was Kraugel. Kraugel stepped back, but that was it. He didn’t release the sword in his hand.

Edan’s judgment was quick. “I have to go and clean up the shit.”

Right now, Rachel’s life wasn’t important. Every minute was precious, so it would be a waste of time to punish the Sword Saint hindering him. Edan recovered his sword and said goodbye to Rachel, “You were lucky. Let’s meet again next time.”

“The next time we meet, you will be a traitor, not a prince.”

“Kukuk, I don’t think so.”

Since when had things become so twisted? Who was behind him?

‘What type of jerk...’ Edan barely suppressed his anger and left. He first planned to meet the grandmaster. 

Soon there were only two people left. Rachel asked Kraugel, “How did you know to come and help me?”

“Master gave me a hint on the way back from beating Berith.”

He stated that he felt a strong red energy. It was unknown why, but Kirinus was very sensitive to the blood of the imperial family and knew the situation occurring inside the royal court. In the worst case, the dukes might suffer because someone had witnessed the dukes and Piaro together. Thus, he was to go to the capital and help them. This was the content of the hidden quest Kraugel had received. He wasn’t able to protect the other three dukes, but he was glad that he could protect Rachel.

‘...The rest.’

Kraugel didn’t know why he had this idea that Grid would’ve rescued the remaining dukes. The reason for this feeling was Grid’s increase in level, which didn’t rise even after the Berith raid.

‘I will reach level 500 and 600 faster.’

Kraugel had been the first player to reach level 100, and he obtained the Pioneer title. He had also been the first to achieve level 200 and 300. Now things had changed. He lost the benefits he’d had for a long time. Even so, why...?

Kraugel felt more pleased than deprived. It was more appropriate to say that his passion was ignited.

[Hidden Quest ★Support the Dukes ★ has been cleared.]

[You have helped one duke.] 

[You have gained one level from the quest reward.]

[The quest rewards...]

....

...