Ronso was nothing more than a Baron, but he was the one who had seized the north.

There were two reasons he could seize the north.

First, an absurd amount of money.

Second, because he was the Fourth Calamity.

The Cult of Calamity—a group where evil people gathered.

Ronso had been hiding as a baron in the north and had committed many deeds until now.

In the north, he secretly murdered lords of territories that wouldn’t follow his will at night, then seized their assets.

Then, after the lord died and the territory lost its center, he claimed he would “help,” only to collect massive taxes instead.

The new lords of those territories?

They couldn’t defy the man who reigned as the king of the north, so they became his dogs.

And Ronso coveted Vallas Territory, the territory created by that man named Hyun.

Vallas Territory’s revenue was five times that of territories of the same scale.

And that was only the beginning.

If Vallas Territory drew in more blacksmiths, and further grew them—developing like a chicken laying eggs—its value would exceed imagination.

That was why he forced the issue and attempted to seize it.

On top of that, he planned to make it look like Belin had been killed by monsters, then sell her as a slave on the black market.

The most beautiful lord in the world being put ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) up for sale as a slave.

He believed it would fetch an enormous price.

After finishing that scheme, Ronso, who had been resting at his residence, suddenly sprang up at the commotion outside.

“To the audience chamber!”

Leading five knights, he rushed straight to the audience chamber.

Fortunately, it seemed the source of the disturbance hadn’t managed to enter the lord’s castle.

Ronso threw open the audience chamber doors in urgency—and then his expression turned confused.

Ronso had been having one servant bring Belin food so she could eat and drink.

She had to stay obedient for him to seize this territory safely.

But that servant was sprawled off to one side.

‘Who is it?’

And there was an unknown man.

He was sitting in a chair with one leg crossed, flipping through a thick stack of papers.

For an instant, Ronso panicked.

A long brown coat, and beneath it, armor that looked truly formidable.

A smooth sword at his waist that was anything but ordinary.

And with a dry, expressionless face, the man rustled through the papers.

That stack of papers contained a detailed record of Baron Ronso’s crimes up to now.

FLIP-

“Applying an amount three times the tax set by the state.”

FLIP-

“Circumstances indicating bribes received from multiple territories.”

FLIP-

“Indiscriminate murder of Vallas Territory’s territorial people.”

FLIP-

“...And.”

“What are you doing right now?”

The man raised a long index finger to his lips.

“I’m reviewing the letter to send to His Majesty.”

“...!”

Ronso’s body trembled.

No matter if he was the Fourth Calamity, Sword King Barad was a figure on a completely different level.

“...Who are you.”

THUMP-

He closed the stack and met Ronso’s eyes.

“Blacksmith Hyun.”

At that name, Ronso’s chest settled.

Before he could send that letter, his subordinates would be able to cut him down.

Ronso signaled the knights with his gaze.

“How dare you in front of a noble higher than you... Such insolence!”

With those words, the knights reached for their sword hilts.

In that instant—

KRAAAACK—

One time.

THUNK.

Two times.

KRRRCH—

Three times.

CRACK.

Four times.

THUD! THUD!

Five times.

KRA-KRA-BOOM.

Seven times, eight times.

Ronso couldn’t believe it.

The man in front of him vanished and reappeared in the blink of an eye.

And at the same time, five knights collapsed.

‘W-What is that power...?’

It was power he had never seen in his life. Even to himself, called a Calamity, it looked miraculous.

Hyunsoo spoke as he sat back down.

“Yeah. Insolent.”

Was he admitting that he himself had been insolent?

Then a notification sounded.

[The most brilliant star of the Kingdom of Goyard.]

[Viscount Hyunsoo appears.]

[You have encountered a noble higher than you.]

[Show proper etiquette.]

“How dare a mere baron.”

Ronso took a step back.

The time Hyun had visited this place hadn’t been that long ago.

‘In that time, he went from a commoner to a Viscount?’

A Viscount was not an ordinary rank.

A Viscount held authority enough to operate multiple territories.

Ronso glanced around.

“Ghk...”

“Kgh...”

The knights were writhing on the floor.

The opponent was a Viscount, someone with a higher rank than them.

But Ronso realized something soon enough.

“...That was an interesting play.”

Ronso smiled.

******

[Ian: Their knight defenses are definitely insane. The Red Hood Guild dropped in one hit, but these guys take four hits.]

[Ressel: We probably need Storm Brigade support too. With five of us, it doesn’t look easy to deal with 200 soldiers.]

[Belia: I still have a lot of MP, so I think I can hold, but if I use up all my MP... I don’t know what’ll happen... (sob).]

Hyunsoo knew they were in a very unfavorable situation right now.

Yes, Hyunsoo was a Viscount.

But he was a Viscount who had jumped two stages at once from Junior Baron.

That came with side effects.

Normally, he would become a Baron and steadily secure more knights and troops.

Then, once he was fully prepared, he would become a Viscount.

But the fatigue of a sudden rise in rank.

Knights and troops that still weren’t established.

Those became the obstacles.

Baron Ronso’s territory was the largest in this region, and the number of his troops was beyond imagination.

‘Radiance can’t hold for long.’

The easiest method was to crush Baron Ronso under rank and force him to declare surrender.

If that happened, everything ended.

That was why Hyunsoo had overplayed it and staged the situation.

“...That was an interesting play.”

But Ronso was a clever man.

“Can a Viscount who hasn’t yet established a system truly be called a Viscount. Also.”

Hyunsoo sensed the plan failing and tried to move quickly.

‘Then I’ll take Baron Ronso hostage...’

But as Hyunsoo moved, his face was stained with confusion.

SSSSK-.

The moment Baron Ronso tore off the skin of his face, his flesh writhed and his shape changed.

WIGGLE... WIGGLE.

SSSSK-.

[You cannot approach.]

SSSSK.

“Kgh!”

Hyunsoo, who tried to approach, could only retreat in pain as it felt like his body was burning away.

Ronso, now fully revealed, had become a completely different person than before.

An old man with thick white hair.

The old man holding a whip had hollowed eyes, prominent cheekbones, and sunken cheeks.

It was the moment the Calamity that had parasitized countless kingdoms for over a hundred years—living under new names in new places—revealed itself.

[The appearance of the Fourth Calamity.]

PRICKLE—PRICKLE—

Just from facing him, Hyunsoo felt his entire body tingling.

It was his instincts telling him to run.

“Why did you do that?”

Hyunsoo stepped back without realizing it.

The embodiment of evil, his limp white hair tied tight with a cord, clicked his tongue.

“If you had cooperated with me and become my puppet lord, this wouldn’t have happened.”

This.

“I will erase everything in Vallas Territory today and disappear, you foolish, pitiful thing.”

Hyunsoo knew it wasn’t empty bravado.

The numbers in front of him proved it.

[Fourth Calamity Ronso Lv.394]

It was on a different level than any enemy he’d faced until now.

Even compared to Fifth Calamity Jack, it was overwhelmingly higher.

In reality, the level gap between him and Hyunsoo was a full 100.

Hyunsoo didn’t loosen his tension.

In that moment—

WHIP-CRACK!

The whip lashed out brutally.

Hyunsoo dodged fast, but the whip changed trajectory and struck him.

KRAAAACK—.

The impact felt like he’d been hit dead-on by a steel beam, not a whip.

[HP drops below 92%.]

With a single basic attack, Hyunsoo could see that 8% of his HP had been shaved off.

“You’re pretty tough. Most would be split in two in an instant.”

WHIP-RATTLE-RATTLE-RATTLE—

The whip whipped from multiple directions at high speed.

Hyunsoo narrowed the distance through the whips that accelerated more and more.

“Didn’t you say you were a blacksmith?”

As Ronso threaded the gap, he spoke with genuine admiration.

“You have power a blacksmith should not be able to possess.”

Someone had clearly taught him.

And that teaching was helping him greatly.

And Hyunsoo was watching for timing.

‘This isn’t an attack I can use Reverse or God’s Emergency Crafting against.’

Then there was only one thing Hyunsoo could do.

Finding a suitable opening, Hyunsoo tried to unleash Cry of the Sword.

In that split second—

“GRRRR!”

A black space split open, and a strangely shaped dog appeared, its entire body melted away.

It was clearly the shape of a dog, but its size was nearly twice that of an average Doberman.

[Hellhound Lv.332]

The dog’s face, grotesquely melted, crashed into Hyunsoo with its body.

Its face and Hyunsoo’s face drew close.

“GRRRRR!”

The drool it dripped made Hyunsoo’s skin crawl.

KRAAAACK—

Hyunsoo struck it away with his sword, then saw roughly twenty more Hellhounds revealing themselves from every direction.

Calamities of the Cult of Calamity, worshipers of evil.

They each had different traits.

Jack had been close to a dark mage.

And Ronso looked close to a tamer.

“Hellhounds are the hunting dogs of hell. They’re creatures that chew even bones to swallow them, and they’re a byproduct of the Divine Beast Hydra.”

Ronso clicked his tongue.

“I’ve been researching steadily. Outsiders are closing the gap with the people of this land at a rapid pace. And the biggest weakness of those outsiders was this.”

Ronso’s eyes narrowed.

“Mystic power. In the end, if I make it impossible to use at all, you become nothing more than trash lacking even skill.”

Surrounded by dozens of Hellhounds, Hyunsoo couldn’t easily find a way through.

“If you try to use it, my whip will strike you. Aha. Come to think of it.”

Ronso sneered.

“In your current state, you won’t even be able to try.”

Hyunsoo couldn’t deny it.

“YIP-YIP-YIP!”

“KEEIIING!”

“KEHHEK!”

Right now, all Hyunsoo could do was strike away the Hellhounds lunging from every direction.

And the moment he tried to find an opening—

WHIP-SLASH—

The whip struck Hyunsoo.

Hyunsoo’s face twisted.

‘I have to find a method.’

He realized for the first time today.

A gap of nearly 100 levels wasn’t easy—even for Hyunsoo, who had overcome countless crises.

And the tamer power the bastard had exceeded common sense by far.

There were no Radiance members here to help him like when he faced Jack.

But Hyunsoo, as always, was thinking of a way to break through.

That was when one existence Hyunsoo had held close for a long time stirred.

It was a mischievous little thing.

A clingy little thing that demanded Hyunsoo pet it when Hyunsoo did well.

And it spoke.

[The Wolf Egg wants to protect you.]

*****

Ronso thought it had ended far too easily, easier than he expected.

Of course. The difference in power was far too clear.

Then—

Ronso saw a sight he couldn’t understand.

KRAAAACK.

CRUNCH.

KRA-KRA-CRUNCH—

All of a sudden, the man allowed the Hellhounds’ attacks.

Hellhounds never let go once they succeeded in biting.

Shoulder, left arm, both thighs, side.

The man, his entire body bitten, flashed his eyes.

SWOOSH—

Seeing the moving sword, Ronso couldn’t help admiring it.

Power pulled up in an instant.

The moment he realized it was Sword King Barad’s, he tensed—and had no choice but to acknowledge it.

‘Incredible fighting spirit.’

[Even if it breaks]

[In the moment of a life-or-death crisis, you have found a breakthrough.]

[The skill’s effect becomes 8% stronger.]

Watching the will that didn’t retreat even in that situation, Ronso admired him.

But there was one thing he didn’t know.

Ronso’s whip could become five times faster in an instant.

His whip moved, aiming for Hyunsoo’s arm holding the sword.

WHIP-SLAAAAASH—

And then Ronso’s face formed a puzzled expression.

CLANG!

“...?”

A large egg appeared and blocked the whip.

As a top-tier tamer, Ronso could feel the egg’s true worth.

‘Why... why are you there...?’

Soon, the Hellhounds released Hyunsoo’s body and stumbled back in terror.

Just facing that egg made the Hellhounds tremble in fear.

“YIP...!”

“KEEIIING...!”

But that wasn’t what mattered.

A defense by an unknown egg—hard enough that it wouldn’t break.

That single defense created a single opening for Hyunsoo.

Hyunsoo, his entire body covered in bite marks, was completing the sword motion.

Cold sweat ran down Ronso’s back.

The surging momentum of Sword King Barad seized the entire narrow audience chamber.

“Cry of the Sword.”

Sword King Barad’s profundity tore apart everything within 20 meters.