Chapter 646: The Duel
"We're here, the Kingdom of Maraze..."
The moment he entered this country, Loren encountered an army on the move, they were busily heading off to wipe out other warlords.
Since the biggest warlord in these parts had already ascended to the throne, the other warlords could now be called "rebels."
"How do we go about getting the Emperor Card?"
"We go directly to see that king."
This king was very cautious, he wouldn't carry the Emperor Card on his person.
He was a complicated man, he was a king, a tyrant, a warrior, a tough guy.
If Loren really tried to snatch it, he might not be able to get the Emperor Card.
But if Loren actually went to negotiate with him, there was a chance he could obtain the Emperor Card.
Loren and Laila ignored those armies, at Loren's level, these armies had no meaning whatsoever anymore.
Even those grand wars were nothing more than petty squabbles in front of Loren, if he so wished, he could stop any mortal conflict at any time.
Soon, Loren brought Laila to the front of the royal palace.
The palace was huge, but very run-down, traces of war were everywhere, blood had stained the vast majority of these buildings red.
Corpses were even hanging at the palace gates, these bodies were very fresh, blood was still dripping from them without pause.
"Who goes there?"
Since Loren hadn't used the Hermit card this time, the guards spotted Loren approaching very quickly.
"Tell your king, say that Loren wishes to see him."
"Lor...Loren?"
One of the guards rubbed his eyes, carefully scrutinizing Loren's face, continuously comparing the face before him against the wanted list in his memory.
In the end, he confirmed that this was indeed Loren's face.
"Ah!"
One guard let out a scream, directly throwing down his weapon and running off into the distance.
Under the Church's shaping, Loren was the most terrifying thing imaginable, scaring them to this state was only natural, as if Loren would slaughter them all to the last in the very next second.
There were plenty of ways to disguise one's appearance, but they didn't dare take that gamble.
"Please wait a moment... I'll report to His Majesty right away..."
One of the guards quickly sprinted toward the entrance, Loren knew, he probably wasn't coming back.
The other guards' legs had already gone weak with fear.
They weren't lacking in experience either, they'd killed plenty of people, but that was under the premise that they were dealing with humans, Loren was beyond anything that common sense could comprehend.
Angels were existences they could only look up to but never reach, yet who knew how many of such beings Loren had already taken down.
"No need to be afraid, I usually don't kill people."
Loren smiled to reassure these guards, but it didn't seem to have much effect.
"So this is the reputation you have now..."
Laila beside him quipped, she had been traveling through various countries during this period, so she was naturally well aware of Loren's current standing.
Because of this, she'd done quite a bit of slapping people around.
"I'm used to it, worst case, once everything is over, I'll just kill everyone who's unhappy with me."
Loren didn't bother lowering his voice when speaking in front of the few soldiers, he didn't take these soldiers seriously at all, nor did he fear them reporting Loren.
The current situation was that angels coming here would just be walking to their deaths, the Orthodox Gods couldn't possibly come, and even if they did, it would be useless, which was why Loren was so brazen.
Moreover, he was also expressing respect toward that king, who was someone who responded to softness rather than hardness.
If you treated him with courtesy, he would treat you with courtesy, anything could be discussed; if you came in strong trying to take things by force, he would rather die than give in.
He also respected righteous men, if he caught you, dying rather than surrendering might earn you your life, but begging for mercy would definitely get you killed.
"Master Mentor, I've heard much about you."
That king didn't keep Loren waiting long, he walked out of the palace holding a shield and a longsword, offering Loren a bow.
"No need for formalities, I also greatly admire your character, so I wish to strike a deal with you."
Loren's status spoke for itself, even if the other party was a king, both sides instinctively felt that Loren was the one of higher standing.
"Oh? What do I have on me that's worthy of a trade with Master Mentor?"
Hearing Loren's request, the king wore an intrigued expression.
"I want the Emperor Card."
"The Emperor Card is indeed in my possession, I've kept it well hidden all this time, but I never expected you to discover it.
"The Emperor Card can be given to you, but what price are you willing to pay?"
The king didn't hide anything, still speaking truthfully.
"Let's have a fight, if I win you give me the Emperor Card, if you win I'll fulfill three of your wishes that don't cross my bottom line."
"You value this card that highly? Although I feel this is somewhat unequal, since you've said so, I won't refuse, after all, I'm the one benefiting here."
The king didn't doubt whether Loren could fulfill wishes, he just felt that Loren's stake was a bit too heavy.
Nor would he doubt Loren's credibility, this was the reputation Loren had built up over so many years.
"However, although I enjoy combat, I'm also well aware that fighting you would simply be walking to my death."
"I won't use any other abilities, nor my weapons, only pure technique."
"Very well, then I too will only use technique."
With that said, the king tossed aside his weapons, also shedding his armor, casually taking an ordinary sword and shield from one of the soldiers:
"Let's begin."
He didn't harbor the slightest suspicion that Loren would take advantage of this moment to launch a sneak attack.
"Alright."
Loren unfastened the twin blades at his waist along with his black robe, handing them to Laila, also taking an ordinary long spear from a soldier.
Usually Loren used blades more, simply because they were convenient to carry, and there was the Cursed Blade, something with stats when you needed stats, and mechanics when you needed mechanics.
If it came to a real fight, Loren preferred using a spear.
"Just so we're clear, first to three wins."
With that said, the king charged toward Loren.
The shield in his hand wasn't large, but it gave Loren the feeling that this shield protected his entire body.
Every inch longer is every inch stronger, Loren didn't give the king any chance to close the distance, he unceremoniously thrust his spear straight at the king's foot.
The shield couldn't move in time, the king could only swing his sword to parry.
The sword struck the spear tip, but Loren retracted his strength in time, not allowing the spear tip to be chopped off.
At the same time, Loren used the momentum to spin around, lashing out with a sweeping kick, leaving the king with no choice but to raise his sword in defense.
The king kept charging forward, yet never managed to close the distance with Loren, continuously being suppressed by Loren's attacks, until at some moment when he tried to seize an opening during Loren's turn, his shield slackened for an instant, and got struck solidly in the neck by Loren's devastating return thrust.
The spear shaft instantly burst apart, yet the king emerged completely unharmed.
"I'm truly glad I chose first to three wins, it's been a long time since I've experienced this feeling of being completely suppressed from start to finish."
𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
The king rubbed his neck, brushing off the wood splinters.
Seeing Loren claim victory, Laila also breathed a sigh of relief.
She was holding Loren's black robe in her hands, and beneath the robe were two guns.
Although she hadn't brought the Heart's Scales this time, the power of these two guns was nothing to sneeze at either.
If Loren ever found himself in danger, bullets would be blasting the king's head off in the very next second.