Chapter 28: The Divine Sword and the Eight Rings

“You… you didn’t bring the Divine Sword, did you?”  

The Divine Sword Dranion.  

A sacred relic passed down through generations of the Ardan Ducal House’s heads.  

The Sword of the Gods.  

Its name could be considered arrogant.  

Yet its performance was unmatched across the Western Continent.  

In his previous life, Ethan had wielded the patriarch’s sword countless times.  

The Ten Branch Families might be audacious, but could they have dared to take the Divine Sword?  

A fiery surge of mana erupted within Ethan’s body.  

His momentary rage flared outward.  

Seeing this, Baron Helmut quickly shook his head.  

“C-calm down, Archduke! Though our Elders’ Council acted as regents, we weren’t mad enough to take the Divine Sword! And… as you know, the blade was completely shattered!”  

…What? The Divine Sword is broken?  

In all his life, Ethan had never heard such an absurd story.  

What kind of sword was the Divine Sword?  

When he faced the Dragon Lord, its strike had only left faint cracks on the blade—so sturdy was its craftsmanship.  

A weapon of such resilience, completely shattered?  

His voice softened as if deflated, and Helmut tilted his head.  

“You knew this already, didn’t you, Archduke? Why are you suddenly…?”  

If you want to die painlessly, you’d better explain that story in detail right now.  

“I-I’ll talk! It’s… it’s like this!”  

In the quiet Capital Prison, Helmut’s story spilled out.  

The crux was simple.  

After the war with the Dragonkin, many members of the Ardan Ducal House, including the patriarch, perished.  

When their bodies were returned to the family, the Divine Sword was already shattered beyond recognition.  

All that remained was the hilt.  

Ethan pressed immediately.  

“Did the Dragon Lord break it?”  

“I don’t know. All that’s known from the Dragonkin War is that the previous and prior patriarchs, along with many family members, went to face the Dragon Lord…”  

Helmut swallowed hard and continued.  

“And after that, every member of the Ducal House returned as a corpse.”  

“What happened to the Dragon Lord?”  

“No one knows. That monster never appeared again after that. The prevailing opinion is that it must have been gravely wounded…”  

For now, gathering more information was the priority.  

“Why was the non-aggression treaty signed?”  

“Word spread that the Ducal House’s sacrifice dealt a massive blow to the Dragon Lord. After that, the Dragonkin proposed the non-aggression treaty, and the Xenon Empire was the first to accept it, spreading the trend to other nations.”  

“The Xenon Empire?”  

“Yes. When the most powerful empire accepted the treaty, what could the other kingdoms do? They had no choice but to follow. Our Hydern Kingdom was no exception.”  

“Did no one consider attacking the Dragonkin?”  

“Good heavens, Archduke. Do you think the Dragonkin consist only of the Dragon Lord? As you know, those monsters aren’t just a handful. Even if their leader was wounded, their strength was too great to risk war.”  

Damn them.  

If they’d cornered the enemy’s leader, shouldn’t they have finished the job themselves?  

In the end, all the Ducal House gained from this was the honor of their sacrifice.  

“One more question. During the war with the Dragonkin, were the humans utterly outmatched?”  

“Have you lost your memory or something?”  

“Just answer the question before I rip out your tongue.”  

“…The Xenon Empire held its own evenly. Our Hydern Kingdom, which was hit first among the kingdoms, was utterly overwhelmed early on. Only after the Ducal House joined did the tides turn even…”  

The Xenon Empire…  

While Dragonkin commanders and lieutenants were formidable, without the Dragon Lord, it might have been possible to push them back.  

If the war was evenly matched before the Dragon Lord was wounded, they could have pressed the advantage.  

Why the Dragonkin signed a non-aggression treaty at such a favorable moment was a lingering question.  

I’ll need to look into that later.  

For now, he had no time to focus on the Xenon Empire.  

Reclaiming the Ducal House demanded his full attention.  

But once he succeeded…  

They’d better be ready.  

If he discovered any foul play, he’d SLICE off the heads of those at the top, empire or not.  

That was the respect owed to the ancestors who sacrificed for the continent.  

If it’s not the Divine Sword…  

There was one item he suspected might be his father’s relic.  

“Let’s go.”  

“Yes, Archduke.”  

Silvia, who had been quietly holding her breath, followed Ethan closely.  

The entrance to the fourth floor of the Capital Prison was tucked away in a corner of the third floor.  

Opening the underground door, they descended the stairs.  

A sturdy iron gate blocked the way.  

A magic circle was etched in its center.  

Ethan took out the necklace Helmut had given him.  

When he placed it in the circle’s core, a HUMMING sound rang out, followed by a CRISP CLICK from within.  

The lock had undoubtedly opened.  

Pushing the gate, the interior came into view.  

Various precious metals and items were neatly arranged—things Helmut had hoarded for decades.  

Among them, Ethan’s attention was drawn to a small liquid mass.  

The black liquid resembled a tiny slime.  

This is it.  

The Duke’s relic, the Eight Rings.  

He recognized it instantly.  

It was one of the items passed down alongside the Divine Sword to the family’s patriarchs.  

This is the first ring.  

A ring.  

Literally, a loop.  

A loop that imposed powerful constraints on the body.  

Ethan plunged his hand into the liquid.  

The Essence of Fire within him began to TREMBLE.  

The Breath of Black Flame, the family’s secret breathing technique.  

As the fiery mana of the Essence of Fire resonated, the liquid SHUDDERED and swiftly seeped into his body.  

Silvia watched with curiosity.  

“Wondering what it is?”  

“…Yes. Is it alright to tell me?”  

“It’s not exactly a secret. This is the Eight Rings, one of the items passed down in the family.”  

“The Eight Rings?”  

“A set of eight ring-shaped metals, you could say.”  

“Metal… shouldn’t it not be absorbed into the body?”  

“This is a peculiar item.”  

The Eight Rings were created long ago, according to records.  

“Peculiar how?”  

“They say it’s a metal crafted by a god or something. Regardless, as long as you meet the qualifications, absorbing it won’t cause any side effects.”  

There were three qualifications.  

First, to be a direct descendant with the strong blood of the Ducal House.  

Second, to have mastered the family’s secret breathing technique and created the Essence of Fire.  

Third, to possess a certain level of fire energy in the body.  

Meeting these allowed one to absorb the Eight Rings.  

“That’s fascinating. Do you meet those qualifications, Archduke?”  

“I suppose I do.”  

Soon, the metal writhing within him spread faintly throughout his body.  

Ethan vibrated his Essence of Fire.  

The fiery mana flowing out was absorbed by the first ring now spread across his body.  

As it did, his entire body grew heavier.  

It felt as if iron rings were draped all over him.  

Ethan smirked at the weighty sensation.  

It’s been a while.  

The first effect of the Eight Rings: Augmentation.  

It absorbed energy to increase the body’s weight—a perfect training tool.  

The second effect was Liberation.  

It returned the absorbed energy to the body, acting as a reserve storage.  

An excellent function.  

Before reaching the Transcendent realm, the total energy a human body could hold was limited by their level.  

One couldn’t endlessly accumulate energy.  

Exceeding the controllable amount could cause a rampage.  

But with the Eight Rings?  

Energy could be stored as a reserve and released back into the body at will.  

With all eight rings, up to four times.  

A user of all eight rings could wield five times the energy of a knight at the same level.  

With one ring, he could store half that amount.  

As he absorbed mana to the ring’s maximum capacity, he felt his body grow heavy.  

The sensation of his muscles SCREAMING with every movement.  

It was satisfying.  

If I can move freely with all eight rings…  

During Liberation, he could unleash immense power.  

Not only would physical limitations vanish, but he could also draw on a massive amount of energy.  

The reason past patriarchs wielded such formidable power was, in part, the Eight Rings.  

The rest are held by the other Branch Families.  

What they’d stolen wasn’t the hilt-only Divine Sword, but the Eight Rings.  

The usage and purpose of the Eight Rings were passed down only to the next patriarch.  

Naturally, the Branch Families likely didn’t know their true function.  

They probably saw it as a valuable relic of the Duke and took it without question.  

Another reason to crush them.  

Even if they couldn’t use it, it was a relic of the previous Duke.  

They likely knew it was valuable, even if unaware of its exact purpose.  

Asking politely wouldn’t get it back.  

There was a simple solution.  

Overwhelming force.  

Ethan thought of his next target, the Romenton Baron’s Family.  

His gaze turned to Silvia.  

“Go to the Baron and have him write down the names of every family that took my father’s relics.”  

“Understood.”  

Soon after, she handed Ethan a sheet of paper.  

“The list.”  

Reading it, Ethan tilted his head.  

“…Is this list correct?”  

“I’ll verify it properly.”  

“No, it’s fine.”  

Just a day ago, Helmut had been tortured harshly by Silvia.  

Begging for a clean death, he had no reason to lie.  

This is a mess.  

Ethan gave a cold laugh as he read the list.  

He’d assumed all the Eight Rings were with the Ten Branch Families.  

He was wrong.  

They were scattered far and wide.  

Three with the Ten Branch Families.  

Four with the Seven Houses of the Kingdom.  

And, absurdly, one had been sold to a marquisate in the neighboring Raimdel Kingdom.  

He immediately confronted Helmut.  

“How did you learn the locations of the Eight Rings?”  

“…I gathered it through exchanges with the other Ten Branch Families. I swear it’s true. I heard the other patriarchs say they passed them to the Seven Houses.”  

“Do you know why they gave them to the Seven Houses?”  

“Rather than holding onto something useless, perhaps to buy techniques… I myself was debating whether to sell it for a translated Mana Breathing Technique…”  

The Eight Rings, a vital relic of his father.  

He had to reclaim them.  

But it wouldn’t happen quickly.  

First, I’ll crush the Branch Families.  

Then he’d deal with the Seven Houses.  

Of course, those arrogant nobles wouldn’t return the Eight Rings easily.  

That’s a problem for later.  

One silver lining:  

The Romenton Baron’s Family, his next target, still held one of the Eight Rings.  

His next destination was firmly set.  

After collecting the various treasures from the fourth floor of the Capital Prison, he spoke.  

“Let’s go.”  

Silvia followed him out of the prison.