Chapter 647: The Emperor Card

"Next, I hope to witness more of your true strength. Please take up your own weapons, these inferior standard-issue arms are unworthy of someone like you."

As he spoke, the King had already lifted his own sword and shield, tapping the blade against the shield before settling into a combat stance, waiting for Loren.

He had struck the shield with the edge of his blade, using considerable force, yet no mark was left on the shield, and the sword's edge had not dulled either.

"An indestructible property, is it?"

Loren had already figured out what was going on as he accepted his twin blades from Laila.

"As expected, nothing escapes your eyes."

Once he confirmed Laila was ready, the King charged forward once more.

At the same time, the Requiem had already lashed out. Even without Loren employing any martial skill, the Requiem's speed was terrifyingly fast.

The King only caught a flash of crimson light, and before his brain could even react, his body moved on instinct.

He raised his shield, blocking Loren's Requiem mid-air, while the blade in his other hand thrust forward simultaneously.

The King's strength was considerable. Loren hadn't activated Intelligence-to-Strength conversion before the fight, so he couldn't directly absorb the King's thrust.

He'd said he wouldn't use other abilities, so Loren wouldn't.

Loren swung the Bloody Battle to deflect the blade while sidestepping the thrust at the same time.

The Requiem slid down along the shield, and the King's shield followed the movement, precisely tracking the Requiem to keep it from cutting through.

Meanwhile, his other hand shifted tactics, stabbing toward Loren's abdomen.

Loren simply kicked the King in the stomach, sending him stumbling back a distance, while using the recoil to leap backward himself, widening the gap once more.

The Requiem wasn't exceptionally long, but it was still longer than the King's blade, offering at least some reach advantage.

"The blade's been damaged..."

Loren stole a glance at the Requiem's edge. Sure enough, it had chipped slightly. This was the first time something like this had happened, after all, he'd been cutting against something with an indestructible effect.

But the Requiem was a Cursed Blade, it would heal itself soon enough. Loren didn't pay it much mind.

"You can still spare the attention to worry about your own sword?"

The next moment, the King charged in again.

Loren didn't rush to attack either, simply blocking relentlessly. The long and short blades in his hands wove an airtight defense, no matter how desperately the King pressed forward, he couldn't get within even a hair's breadth of Loren.

Sweat dripped down the King's face, yet a smile crept onto his lips. This feeling of being utterly outclassed in technique was frustrating, but also strangely exhilarating.

Finally, Loren seized an opening, resting the Bloody Battle against the King's neck.

"I yield."

Loren withdrew the Bloody Battle and clasped his fists in salute.

The Bloody Battle barely had an edge, even if it had truly cut down, it wouldn't have done much damage, but the King still conceded defeat gracefully.

If Loren could rest the Bloody Battle against his neck, then swapping to the longer Requiem would only make it easier.

At the same time, the Bloody Battle's evolution had finally reached its critical point. It had completely lost its blade edge, with the edge and spine of the blade now nearly identical in width.

When Loren looked at the Bloody Battle's description, even its name had changed.

【Ceasefire】

Effect: Can shatter all weapons and armor, but cannot cause any damage.

The description was just that single simple line, yet it was more than enough.

Loren had tested it before. Ceasefire's code overrode the indestructible property, even weapons imbued with an indestructible effect couldn't withstand Ceasefire's attacks, they would only be instantly shattered.

"Now for the final bout. I hope we can both give it everything we have."

"The Emperor Card you're looking for is in the flowerpot by the palace gate. You don't need to hold back, just kill me and go grab it."

As he spoke, the King had already donned his full armor.

If Loren guessed correctly, this suit of armor also carried the indestructible effect.

The indestructible effect wasn't something cheap. Under normal circumstances, only the Goddess of Love could grant it, and besides that, only the Emperor Card had that capability.

This entire set of equipment on the King was the Emperor Card's handiwork.

"Alright."

Loren spun his blade in a flourish, leveling Ceasefire at the King.

Perfect timing, he'd been wanting to test out Ceasefire's effects anyway.

"Let's begin!"

The King planted his shield in front of himself, and an ethereal afterimage of the shield materialized before him as he activated his martial skill:

"Buried Bones Monument!"

A wave of deathly aura radiated from the shield, and the next moment, the King charged forward.

"Throat-Severing Slash!"

Out of respect for the King, Loren appropriately employed a martial skill as well.

Ceasefire slid out, effortlessly shattering the King's shield. When he swung his blade, Loren followed with a second and third strike:

"Throat-Severing Slash! Throat-Severing Slash!"

Two consecutive slashes, one shattering the King's sword, the other shattering his armor, while Ceasefire pressed against his throat once more.

"I win. Go fetch the Emperor Card for me."

Loren withdrew Ceasefire. After all this time, the Bloody Battle had finally evolved into Ceasefire, its meaning shifting from war to peace.

But this wasn't actually its complete form. The full Ceasefire was still missing one gemstone.

That gemstone was called "Arrogance," capable of amplifying magical power based on the wielder's emotions.

Like Ceasefire, Arrogance could evolve as well. After evolution, it was named "Humility," and its effect was similar to Ceasefire's.

But while Ceasefire shattered all physical attacks, Humility could shatter magical attacks.

When Humility was set into Ceasefire, the blade could shatter all attacks of any kind.

"Yes, I'll retrieve it for you right away."

The King accepted his loss gracefully, walking to the palace gate, grabbing the flowers in the pot, and pulling them up along with the dirt to retrieve the Emperor Card buried in the flowerpot.

"This is what you requested."

The King respectfully placed the Emperor Card into Loren's hands.

Even before Loren had betrayed the Church, the King wouldn't have shown him much respect. He'd never respected people for their status, only for their character and ability.

Now that Loren had defeated him, and he admired Loren's character as well, that was why he showed such deference.

"Thank you."

Loren gave the King the respect he deserved, offering his thanks before picking up the tarot card to examine it.

The Emperor Card's face depicted a king seated high above, with soldiers riding deer and subjects eating rats below.

【Tarot Card: The Emperor】

Effect: Define something, the more people who believe it, the stronger the effect.

Introduction: What I speak is the truth that transcends reality.

The King's equipment had been made using the Emperor Card. He claimed his armor and weapons were indestructible, then forced people to believe it, and eventually, his armor truly became indestructible.

That was only one of its simplest applications. Loren could even define "believing in the Orthodox Gods causes death" to strip away people's faith in the Orthodox Gods entirely.

Or Loren could define dirt as nutrient-rich food to solve famine problems.

The Emperor Card's effects were highly versatile and comprehensive.

From battlefield control at the top end to damage amplification at the bottom, it could do it all. Its effect was somewhat similar to the Sun Card, but each had its own focus, and they could even synergize with each other.

Moreover, the Emperor Card didn't require people to genuinely believe, as long as they appeared to believe on the surface, that was enough.