IBHJ Chapter 819

A deafening roar of thunder drew Eldur's gaze to the peak of the World Tree. His eyes widened as he gazed at the sky-piercing road, a marvel of the world that seemed to defy the very laws of nature. It rose from the clouds, a shimmering path that promised to lead them to a brighter future. But unlike the ill-fated Tower of Babel, this road, a symbol of their unwavering hope built by their beloved king, would not crumble.

Eldur's heart swelled with excitement and joy, the emotions so intense that they threatened to overflow in tears. Ten thousand years of waiting, of toiling and dreaming, were finally coming to—

Suddenly, a loud boom interrupted his thoughts, and Asgard shook and trembled. A beam of mana shot up, destroying part of the wall and engulfing the patrolling giants beside it. Then, Gawain rushed out from the shattered wall. And it seemed like his appearance was a signal, as Asgard's wall began to crack everywhere, and one blast after another devoured the giants. From the fractured wall, Knights of the Round started pouring out.

One by one, armored human knights rushed out from underground, their metal plates clanking and glinting in the dim light. They caught the giants off guard, who stumbled backward with surprise. In a short time, Knights of the Round ambushed and killed many giants, their swords slicing through flesh and bone as easily as a hot knife through butter. Blood sprayed and pooled on the ground as giant bodies thudded to the earth.

But how? What was going on? How could this be? Eldur stared at the scene unfolding before him, his eyes darting from one fallen giant to another. Shock was written all over his face, his mouth hanging open in disbelief. "Why? Why is it like this?" he asked frantically, his voice rising with each question. "It shouldn't be like this. This situation shouldn't be like this!"

He had anticipated that Eternal King would take part in the assassination, and had even brought the most elite of the king's elites. He had been confident, so sure of their victory. And yet... he gritted his teeth, jaw clenched tightly as he watched his brothers fall. It was the ambush. If it had been a direct confrontation, he was sure that these human soldiers wouldn't have been a match for them. But caught off guard, his brothers hadn't stood a chance against the well-prepared knights.

But there was something way more important, and when the realization hit him, Eldur's head throbbed with anger, his temples pulsing as rage coursed through his veins.

"Why is there a secret passage under Asgard? Ahhhh!!!" Eldur yelled, his voice raw as he understood that it was precisely because of this unknown secret passage that they had been caught off guard by these humans, like rats in a trap.

"Damn Eternal King!" he cursed loudly. With a wave of his hand, he was about to regroup his men when suddenly, he heard a whooshing sound by his ears. Almost instinctively, he raised the sword in his hand. Then, he saw a burly purple knight break through, leaping high into the air, the sword in his hand emitting a cold light as it chopped down on him. With a clang of metal clashing, the sword felt very heavy. Eldur only felt a numbness in his palm but felt a bit lucky in his heart. If he hadn't trusted his body's instincts and raised his sword to block, he might have been assassinated.

"Who goes there?" Eldur demanded loudly.

Lancelot stared at Eldur with cold eyes, his killing intent overflowing as he questioned, "Were you the one who killed Galahad?"

Eldur scoffed, "Galahad? He should be a nameless nobody who died by my hand, right? Are you his father? Then you can join him in the grave!"

The two warriors danced around each other, their swords clashing against each other as Eldur's huge body and armor deflected glancing blows, while Lancelot's agility allowed him to evade Eldur's swings. Sparks flew as their swords ground against each other. Suddenly, Eldur lashed out with his sword while ignoring Lancelot's attack, knocking him back. As he raised his blade for the killing blow, a glint of light caught his eye. In the blink of an eye, an arrow lodged itself in Eldur's eye with a sickening squelch, blood splattering everywhere.

"Argh!" Eldur howled, clutching at his ruined eye. His attack faltered, giving Lancelot a chance to regain his footing. Lancelot glanced over at Tristan, who lowered his enchanted bow with a nod.

"Thanks."

Gritting his teeth hard against the pain, Eldur ripped his ruined eye right out of his head with his bare hand. Ignoring the blood gushing down his face, he shoved the mangled mess into his mouth and chewed, forcing himself to swallow the soft, gory tissue. He snarled through crimson-stained teeth, "This way, every part of me, every last damn cell, is still fighting for the king!"

Eldur took a stance, glaring at the two knights. He stepped forward, his sword chopping down on Lancelot. The difference in their physiques was too great, and Lancelot and Tristan didn't dare to completely block the attack. They quickly dodged out of the way. Tristan's arrow had provoked the brutality within Eldur, and he was about to slaughter them all. But then, he suddenly thought of Surtr. Gritting his teeth, he forcibly suppressed his brutal nature and began to reorganize his troops. However, Lancelot and Tristan weren't about to give him that chance.

As soon as they saw Eldur trying to regroup, they launched attacks on him with reckless abandon. And once Eldur reacted, they quickly fled, clearly applying the essence of mobile warfare to their individual combat. This completely ignited the giant's anger, but Surtr's existence made him regain his rationality, even as he burned with rage. Surtr, the incomparably rational king that Eldur immensely admired and worshipped. As long as he could get a little closer to Surtr, he would be very happy. Then, should Eldur get angry in this situation? Surtr always said that anger is the most useless and incompetent thing to do. How could he let anger devour his rationality?

This put immense pressure on Lancelot and Tristan. Eldur was completely different from the enemies they had encountered before. Under normal circumstances, being toyed with like this would make anyone angry, and anger would make them lose rationality, revealing openings. But not this giant.

Eldur maintained his rationality while being angry, displaying an emotional control that exceeded human limits. Being angry yet rational was something Lancelot had only seen in Shirou until now. And here, he saw it again in Eldur. This led to every attack from Eldur being calculated, like an invisible large net, stripping away the spaces where Lancelot and Tristan could dodge, leaving them with only the fate of being chopped down.

Just as it seemed that Eldur had them completely cornered, his sword ready to deliver the final, fatal blow, something unexpected happened. The sun's brilliance flickered, and in that moment, a surprise attack came out of nowhere. A sword flashed through the air, its blade slicing clean through Eldur's abdomen with sickening ease. The giant of a man stood frozen for a moment, his eyes widening in shock as he looked down at his severed body, now in two separate halves at the waist.

With a boom, the two halves of Eldur's body fell to the ground. Lancelot, having survived, looked up and saw Gawain's dazzling golden hair shining like the sun. He let out a relieved sigh and said, "Thanks."

"No problem. I told you I'd help, didn't I? I always keep my word," Gawain replied with a grin.