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Luo Hao looked Alex over for a moment, then nodded in satisfaction."Not bad. Your strength's gone up quite a bit. Let's see whether your technique has kept pace."
As soon as she finished speaking, her right hand snapped into a sword-finger and thrust forward without warning.
Alex startled, but his reaction was immediate. His own right hand formed a sword-finger as well, finger as blade, neatly blocking her strike.
Then he counterattacked.
Exquisite sword techniques and refined finger arts flowed one after another, but every move was effortlessly neutralized by Luo Hao.
Back and forth they went, so fast the eye couldn't follow. Only afterimages flickered in the air.
In less than a minute, they had already exchanged over a hundred blows.
In the end, Alex was forced onto the defensive. Luo Hao's finger stopped right at his throat.
A faint, clean fragrance drifted from that slender, pale jade-like hand. It smelled surprisingly pleasant.
Luo Hao withdrew her hand. "Not bad. You've improved. Looks like you've found your own path."
Hearing the praise, Alex broke into a smile.
At that moment, Luo Hao turned her gaze to Hestia. "Why are you here?"
"Obviously to help Alex kill a god," Hestia said, folding her arms across her chest as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Though she was a goddess herself, she wasn't one of the disobedient gods of this world.
If Alex could grow stronger by slaying a god, she really couldn't care less about those so-called counterparts from another world.
"But if you kill a god with help from powerful allies," Alex suddenly asked, "will Pandora even acknowledge it?"
Both Luo Hao and Hestia fell silent at the question.
It was Esdeath who spoke up instead. "Almost every Godslayer got their first kill by taking advantage of the situation. Otherwise, how would an ordinary person ever manage to slay a god?"
"Then let's give it a try," Alex said. That was all he could do.
If it didn't work, he'd do it on his own.
After all, Kusanagi Godou had the Prometheus Tablet. That thing could steal Authorities.
Used properly, it was a huge help in godslaying.
"Then we'll head to Sardinia first," Luo Hao said, forming seals as she activated a spell.
It seemed to be some kind of summoning art. If he ever got the chance, Alex figured it might be worth learning a bit of fangshu from her.
Not long after, a handsome young man appeared atop Mount Lu.
It was none other than Luo Hao's true disciple, Lu Yinghua.
Alex didn't know much about him. He'd only watched the Campione! anime before, never read the novels. Anything beyond that came mostly from fanfics.
Seeing so many outsiders at his master's secluded hermitage, Lu Yinghua was inwardly shocked.
Luo Hao gestured toward Alex. "Yinghua, this is my sworn junior, Alex."
Lu Yinghua froze, then immediately bowed deeply. "Disciple Lu Yinghua greets Martial Uncle Alex!"
"Uh… no need to be so formal," Alex said, feeling awkward being called "Martial Uncle."
"These two are my friends, Hestia and Esdeath," Luo Hao continued.
Hestia?
As a disciple of a Godslayer, Lu Yinghua was well-versed in mythologies from around the world. The name instantly made him think of one of the Twelve Olympian gods of Greece.
When he sensed the terrifying divine pressure radiating from Hestia's unsealed power, he couldn't help swallowing hard.
A… a disobedient god?
Why would there be a disobedient god at his master's residence?
Seeing his stunned expression, Luo Hao immediately understood what he was thinking.
"What are you spacing out for?" A crushing pressure slammed down on Lu Yinghua.
He snapped back to his senses and hurriedly bowed to both Hestia and Esdeath.
"Useless," Luo Hao snapped, irritation in her voice. "Go prepare plane tickets to Sardinia."
"Yes!" Lu Yinghua answered, trembling as he accepted the order.
"Get out of my sight," Luo Hao said, flicking her sleeve.
Lu Yinghua was sent flying straight off the peak of Mount Lu.
Alex stared, dumbfounded. "He… he's not going to die, is he?"
"If he dies," Luo Hao replied coolly, "that just means he wasn't strong enough."
Alex: "…"
After some preparations, Lu Yinghua had the aircraft ready.
Yes, aircraft.
He hadn't bought tickets at all. He'd simply mobilized a private jet.
It had to be said, rich people really did play by different rules.
Then again, in this world, Godslayers held a status even higher than a nation's president.
They could do whatever they pleased. Everyone else existed to serve them.
At the same time, magical associations across Europe fell into panic.
No one could understand why the most brutal of all Godslayers, the Martial King, was heading to Sardinia.
Wasn't she supposed to rarely ever leave Mount Lu?
…
On the plane, Alex sat in first class, gazing at the clouds drifting past the window, lost in thought.
If this godslaying succeeded, just how much would that terrifying achievement boost his Blessing?
All stats breaking the limits?
Would it be like Liuli Ang again, leaping through multiple levels in one continuous breakthrough?
The thought alone made his heart stir with anticipation.
By the time the plane touched down at Sardinia's airport, night had already fallen.
Every unrelated person inside the terminal had been cleared out. All other flights were delayed. Everything had been done for one reason only: to welcome Luo Hao.
This was the kind of spectacle befitting a Godslayer.
The cabin door opened. Luo Hao stepped out first, followed by Alex, Hestia, and Esdeath.
Behind them came Lu Yinghua and a group of attendants, all female alchemists from the Five Prison Sacred Sect. They were between sixteen and eighteen, each one beautiful and far from weak.
Most importantly, every single one of them was untouched.
Outside the airport, armed soldiers stood guard in tight formation. Inside, rows of magi lined both sides of the hall, forming a ceremonial path fit for a king.
They were members of the European Seven Sisters Alliance. At the front stood two figures: Paul Blantri, Commander-in-Chief of the Red Copper Black Cross, and Diana Militello, Commander-in-Chief of the Bronze Black Cross.
Alex glanced at them.
Paul was a burly man who looked to be in his forties. Diana, on the other hand, appeared to be a glamorous woman in her early thirties. Years of authority had given her a commanding presence.
And yet, in front of Luo Hao, these two big shots looked as obsequious as could be.
If he had to describe it, they were practically lapdogs.
Alex didn't linger on them for long. His attention was drawn instead to the two girls standing behind them.
Behind Paul stood a blonde girl, no more than fourteen or fifteen, yet already strikingly mature for her age.
No guessing needed. This had to be Erica Blantri, the heroine of the Godslayer world.
A Grand Knight at such a young age, and famed for her looks as much as her strength, she was known as the "Crimson Devil."
Behind Diana stood a silver-haired girl about the same age, equally beautiful.
Lilianna Kranjcar. Another heroine.
She was also a Grand Knight, standing alongside Erica as one of the twin stars of European magic, bearing the title "Silver Artisan."
Alex wasn't the only one observing them. Hestia was too.
She could clearly sense their age and their power.
Geniuses.
If possible, she wanted them in her familia.
The magi of the Seven Sisters Alliance bowed deeply the moment Luo Hao stepped off the plane.
"Welcome, Martial King!"
Luo Hao nodded in satisfaction. This kind of reception suited her status perfectly.
"Take us to the best hotel here," she said casually to Paul and Diana.
"Yes!" Both commanders answered at once.
As Alex followed behind her, a strange feeling crept up on him.
If he remembered correctly, Luo Hao didn't care much for modern technology.
No, that wasn't quite right. It wasn't that she didn't understand it. She simply refused to use it.
Back on Mount Lu, she lived alone in a small hermitage at the summit, completely cut off from the world. Even when she traveled, she relied on her Authorities rather than airplanes.
And yet now, she was flying, staying in hotels, and acting perfectly at ease.
Had her time in the Type-Moon world, living in hotels all the time, changed her habits?
Alex shook his head and stopped thinking about it.
They left the airport in a luxury business vehicle and headed straight for the finest hotel on the island.
Along the way, Erica sat in the car with her uncle Paul.
Unable to hold back her curiosity, she asked, "Uncle, did you notice anything strange about the people following the Martial King?"
Paul's expression was grave as he nodded. "That twin-tailed girl. The divinity around her is overwhelming. If nothing unexpected is going on, she's a god."
"What?" Erica exclaimed. "A Godslayer traveling with a god? How is that even possible?"
"I don't know," Paul said with a sigh. "But since the Martial King has come to Europe, something major is definitely about to happen."
"Then who's that boy walking beside her?" Erica asked again. "I recognize Lu Yinghua, but that one is new."
"According to reliable information, he's the Martial King's newly acknowledged younger brother. His name is Alex," Paul replied.
That was all they knew.
Alex seemed to have appeared out of thin air.
The same was true for the woman named Esdeath. No background, no records, nothing.
When news spread that Luo Hao was heading to Sardinia, every magical organization in Europe launched investigations, trying to figure out why she was coming and who would be accompanying her.
The result was three people with no past: Alex, Hestia, and Esdeath.
The name Hestia, however, was not unfamiliar in Europe. One of the twelve Olympian gods of Greek mythology.
When Paul connected that name with the terrifying divinity radiating from the twin-tailed girl, he became certain.
She was Hestia, goddess of the hearth.
A Godslayer and a god arriving together on Sardinia. What in the world were they planning?
"So the Martial King actually acknowledged a younger brother," Erica murmured. "Is there something special about this Alex?"
"No idea," Paul said firmly. "And don't go prying."
"Got it, got it," Erica replied, waving it off casually.
The convoy soon reached the hotel.
Every guest had already been evacuated. The entire building existed for Luo Hao alone.
Inside the presidential suite, everyone gathered together.
Luo Hao got straight to the point. "According to the story, that Japanese kid arrives on Sardinia tomorrow. At that time, Veleslana and Melqart will recover and resume their battle. Are you planning to act tonight, or wait until tomorrow?"
"To be safe, tonight," Alex answered without hesitation. "We deal with Melqart first."
With the protagonist present tomorrow, who knew what kind of nonsense his Godslayer powers might pull.
If Alex worked himself to the bone only to have the kill stolen, it would be humiliating.
Better to slay Melqart tonight and become a Godslayer first.
Then tomorrow, as a Godslayer, he could take down Veleslana as well.
A smile curved Luo Hao's lips. She clearly approved.
Alex smiled back, then turned to Hestia. "Whether we can find Melqart depends on you."
Hestia answered with confident cheer. "Leave it to me."
She closed her eyes.
Terrifying divine power spread outward, covering the entire island of Sardinia.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three.
"Found him!" Hestia opened her eyes, excitement flickering across her face.
Alex's breathing quickened slightly.
This was it. The moment had finally arrived.
Esdeath was just as thrilled.
At last, she would witness the hunt of a god.
Luo Hao patted Alex on the shoulder, her tone relaxed. "No need to be nervous. It's just a disobedient god. Steady your breathing and calm your mind."
"Mm." Alex nodded and adjusted himself.
When his condition reached its peak, they left the hotel together, heading for the place where Melqart was recovering.
Outside, the magi noticed their movement and immediately tensed.
Sitting in the car, Paul let out a long sigh. "Is it starting?"
Erica looked confused. "Uncle, what's starting?"
Paul shook his head. "I'm not certain. It's just a guess. But if I'm right, then by the time tonight ends, the seventh Godslayer will be born."
"..."
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