The Greatest Warrior of All Time Returns-Chapter 377

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Chapter 377

The Duchy of Cascadia is protected by an enormous number of spells that are completely unknown to the outside world.

They were installed out of concern—what if my weak little sister got beaten up somewhere, or if thieves or bandits broke in and she got hurt?

As a result, although Melissa herself doesn’t know it, the duchy of Cascadia and the ducal residence are under a defensive spell system that Luna and I continuously update in real time.

Originally, we never intended to go this far.

But after learning that a cultist had infiltrated the territory to steal the Void Enchanter—a staff that implants knowledge—and had specifically targeted Arsha, our precautions escalated dramatically.

Melissa probably believes there are only a handful of defensive and alarm spells installed.

But really—

Would she believe it if she knew that the number of active spell types alone had already exceeded several hundred?

That this place, now forged into something like a thousand-year impregnable fortress, was currently safer than any other location in existence?

The problem was that after going to all this effort, there hadn’t been a single intruder since the cultist incident—so none of it had been put to use.

Of course, security systems are best when they’re never needed…

But Luna and I had poured so much effort into creating them that, every now and then, we found ourselves indulging in the indulgent fantasy that maybe one reckless fool might break in—just for fun.

“Falling Blossom.”

After planting a muscular mandragora into the ground, I swung Falling Blossom, the spirit sword I had summoned from subspace.

Falling Blossom’s power influences plant growth.

In fact, it had once turned a perfectly normal tree into something on the level of the World Tree—or even healed an actual dying World Tree.

It was an exceptionally capable spirit sword.

Whether Falling Blossom understood my intent or not, it resonated more strongly than usual, scattering motes of light as it began to affect the mandragora.

Honestly, it wasn’t necessary to use Falling Blossom.

But while experimenting with mandragoras, the thought crossed my mind—what would happen if I used Falling Blossom on one of these?

Naturally, Luna had responded with, That’s a completely pointless thought.

Which, as always, immediately turned into, Let’s do it.

The result—

One of the mandragoras planted underground began absorbing Falling Blossom’s power far more intensely than the others, undergoing a noticeable transformation.

Just as I was watching it, feeling like something mischievous was about to happen—

Wooooong!!!

Both Luna and I detected an intrusion alert within Cascadia.

“At last!!”

“Finally!!”

Was this a good thing?

Objectively speaking, no.

But Luna and I—starved for dopamine—leapt to our feet with shining eyes.

“I’m going too!”

“No. You’re pregnant.”

“Our baby says it needs a walk!”

“……”

Lately, whenever Luna wants to do something, she claims the baby wants it.

And I let it slide.

Because I love her that much.

Besides, the little one growing in her belly already throws tantrums over side dishes—if there’s food it doesn’t like, Luna immediately gets morning sickness.

Since there wasn’t much left to do anyway, Luna and I suppressed our presence and moved toward the alarm’s location.

And then we saw them.

Two intruders, carefully concealing their presence, slipping into the Cascadia mansion.

Assassins?

Unlikely.

The cultists were too busy dealing with Nyarla’s wrath to attack anyone.

The surveillance division was in a similar situation.

No matter how I thought about it, there was only one conclusion.

They were targeting the Emperor.

They wore standard black assassin garb, but the aura they emitted made it clear—they were no ordinary assassins.

A swordsman of high Sword Master caliber wouldn’t skulk around like this without reason.

There were two intruders.

One was a high-tier Sword Master.

The other was weaker, but still beyond the Master level.

More than enough force to assassinate the Emperor.

Of course, considering Credos Emperor’s guards, it wouldn’t be easy.

They seemed to think they had perfectly concealed themselves—completely unaware that we were watching.

So I picked up a pebble nearby and tossed it lightly beside them.

Tap.

“Huh?!”

Startled by the sudden appearance of a stone despite sensing nothing, the two men snapped into a defensive stance, scanning their surroundings.

Luna glanced at me, pointed at one of them, then pointed to herself.

Fine.

Do whatever you want.

Shhhrrrk…

Luna’s form dissolved as if dispersing into mist.

I moved as well.

In an instant, I slipped behind the high-tier Sword Master.

He was certainly skilled—but not to the point where he could hold his own against a Grandmaster.

From the start, the intruders had only assessed the Emperor and his guards as threats.

They had vastly underestimated what Cascadia truly was—and how prepared it was.

“Huh?!”

I tapped his shoulder.

He reflexively drew his sword and slashed toward me.

There was no sound of the blade leaving its sheath, no excess movement—

A smooth, powerful, razor-sharp strike.

And yet—

I caught the blade with my bare hand.

“Shh.”

When I raised a finger for silence, his eyes finally focused on my face—filling with shock.

He hadn’t expected anyone to bypass his detection so completely.

Grrrk—

He tried to pull the sword free, increasing his strength.

But strangely, no aura blade formed.

“Wh—why isn’t my aura blade—?!”

“Shh.”

Smiling faintly, I lunged forward and grabbed his face.

At the same time, a hemispherical domain spread outward from me.

A sealed space that blocked sound, light, and mana flow entirely.

That was enough.

In the blink of an eye, I dominated the area.

The man abandoned his sword, retreated, and drew a secondary weapon, staring at me in silence.

“Who… who are you…?”

Despite his appearance, his instincts told him I was extremely dangerous.

I tossed the sword I had immobilized to the ground and dusted off my hands.

Fragments of aura spilled from my empty palm.

The residue of an aura blade forcibly condensed and stripped of all control.

Luna would handle the other one.

I only needed to focus on this man.

“You’re from the Western Continent, right?”

“Answer me! Who are you?!”

I stared at his panicked face and spoke again.

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“How rude. You break into someone’s home and ask the homeowner who they are?”

“You… the Duke of Cascadia? Impossible. The Duke is supposed to be—”

“The Duke is my younger sibling. I’m just a mere young lord.”

His expression hardened as he coated his weapon with aura again.

“Withdraw now. I have no intention of harming you.”

“Can’t do that. You’re an uninvited guest—and if you kill the Emperor, we’re the ones who deal with the aftermath. You know that, right?”

“Is that more important than your life?”

I laughed.

“What?”

“At this moment, I won’t harm you. Our goal is only to execute a tyrant who abandoned heavenly principles. So step aside—”

“What are you even saying?”

Thud.

I closed the distance instantly.

He swung his sword in panic—

And once again, I caught it barehanded.

CRACK!!

No.

More accurately, it shattered.

His eyes widened in horror.

“What—?!”

I kicked him away before he could react.

He flew back, vomiting blood, completely unable to resist.

He had no idea how many penalties he was suffering simply by being here.

If he had known, he wouldn’t have acted so boldly.

I approached him as he lay there in confusion.

“Y-you caught an aura blade with your bare hands… what… what are you…?”

Fear now filled his voice.

“You have no choices. Cascadia isn’t kind to uninvited guests. If you wanted success, you should’ve waited until the Emperor left this place.”

As my killing intent leaked out, his face drained of color and his hands trembled uncontrollably.

“This… this can’t be… how can a human—!!”

BAM!

I punched him in the solar plexus, knocking him unconscious.

Grabbing his head, I dismissed the isolation field.

Honestly, he didn’t even realize how much his power had been suppressed.

At this point, even Melissa—barely a Master—could’ve subdued him.

The fact that he didn’t notice made the results all the more impressive.

“Not a bad security system.”

Someone seemed to be hiding behind a tree—but it didn’t matter.

* * *

Credos Emperor frowned slightly as he listened to his subordinates’ report.

“Who did you say?”

“It was Besival, without question, Your Majesty.”

“You’re telling me Besival was subdued by the Cascadia young lord?”

“Y-yes, Your Majesty.”

“But the Cascadia young lord shouldn’t have shown mana or aura beyond a normal person.”

“No, Your Majesty.”

Both Knight Commander Kashibel and Archmage Calliostro trembled as they reported.

“Appearances were deceptive. He was concealing his power.”

“Concealing…?”

Power isn’t something easily hidden—especially not immense power.

The greater it is, the higher the cost of suppression, and instability is inevitable.

To hide it so naturally that none could sense it—what method could possibly achieve that?

Then a chilling thought crossed the Emperor’s mind.

“…I see. He wasn’t hiding it.”

“Your Majesty…?”

“It was simply beyond our ability to perceive.”

No one failed to understand.

It was too vast to be measured.

Both Kashibel and Calliostro paled and bowed deeply.

That oppressive sensation from last night—there was no other explanation.

“And yet… the young lord only just turned twenty. How could he possess such power?”

Droga spoke cautiously.

“Sir Kashibel… could there be a mistake—”

“No. Absolutely not. We both saw it clearly.”

“So the Duke wasn’t the prodigy… the real monster was beside him.”

The Emperor muttered.

“Forgive my candor, Your Majesty—but the young lord… he didn’t feel human.”

“That much?”

“…Yes.”

For a valiant knight to react this way—the scene must have been terrifying.

“What if he turned his blade toward you?”

“…I would delay him at best.”

Such a high evaluation…

The Emperor glanced at Archmage Calliostro.

“And magic?”

“…I hesitate to say this, but behind his aura… there was mana.”

“Explain.”

“Humans cannot normally wield both aura and mana. But Leon Cascadia possessed overwhelming aura—and behind it, mana of immeasurable scale. Furthermore, when I attempted to install defensive magic on the Cascadia estate, I sensed something equivalent to at least an 8th-circle construct. I could not analyze it fully, but its presence was undeniable.”

Meaning Leon could use magic—or something comparable.

“So that’s why you said he wasn’t human.”

“By all common sense, such power at twenty years of age is impossible.”

The atmosphere grew heavy.

Leon wasn’t an enemy—but from a guard’s perspective, even allies must be questioned.

Then another thought arose.

‘I want him…’

Regardless of process, the Emperor desired Leon deeply.

Later, while sitting alone in the Cascadia garden, he noticed a small, adorable girl approaching him.

The spirit child who called Leon “father.”

The Emperor smiled unconsciously.

Pure.

Innocent.

Untainted.

Things he longed for—but could no longer have.

“Uuun… ah… fire… fire…”

“Just call me mister, little one.”

She beamed.

“Yes! Mister! Father said there was a thief last night, so I shouldn’t go outside at night!”

A Sword Master infiltrated—and she called him a thief. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The Emperor chuckled.

Surely nothing else could surprise him now.

Then—

BOOM!!!

A section of the mansion wall exploded.

“AAAH!! It escaped!!”

Melissa screamed as a massive ginseng-root-like creature burst through the rubble.

A grotesquely muscular mandragora.

The Emperor knew what it was.

But this one ran.

Like an animal.

“What… is that…”

“Grivy!! Catch it!!”

The Emperor tried to stop her.

Too late.

Grivy launched forward like a spring.

“Behave or you’ll get punished!”

She flicked it with a tiny fist.

CRASH!!

A massive crater formed.

The enormous mandragora crumpled like a crushed ball.

The Emperor stared, speechless.

“…This truly is an interesting place.”

At this point, he almost looked forward to whatever came next.

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