The Adventures of an Overpowered Knight in Another World Chapter 598- [Ascendant Strike]

"A Supreme Divine Treasure, even when left untouched, isn't merely some ancient relic—it embodies authority itself. A mark of the kingdom's unwavering power and lasting resilience"...

"It decides the influence and voice that kingdom wields at the summit. I figure Solaris has already surrendered its divine treasure to the demons."

With those words, Giacomo's lips twisted into a sinister, blood-red grin.

"However... If you chase the coordinates I provide... Solaris will claim a new one. You've granted me the duel I craved and let me die as a knight right to the bitter end, so accept this as my final gift"...

"Not a bad bargain... wouldn't you say?"

Reinhardt's stoic face finally cracked for the first time since his arrival here.

He'd taken on Sir Giacomo's challenge on a sudden impulse, partly driven by curiosity about the downfall in the Kingdom of Lunaris.

Who could have guessed that casually accepting Sir Giacomo's duel would yield such massive gains in the end?

Though he intended to reclaim Solaris's Supreme Divine Treasure from the demons' grasp, until that moment, Lunaris's Supreme Divine Treasure would greatly bolster Solaris.

Even better, possessing a Supreme Divine Treasure would lend far more authority to the Queen's voice at the upcoming summit.

Giacomo intoned the treasure's coordinates with deliberate precision.

The knight had concealed it masterfully; Reinhardt found himself genuinely impressed.

Without Giacomo's intel, locating it would likely have proven impossible, he feared.

Reinhardt committed every detail to memory flawlessly.

He aimed to retrieve the treasure en route.

"I shared all this... to request one final favor from you."

That revealed Giacomo's real motive.

Reinhardt held off on agreeing right away.

"Tell me what it is first."

The knight pressed on with his plea.

"Once this ends... keep one detail hidden. The bit where the king ordered me... to embed the demon heart"...

"Proclaim to everyone it was solely my doing. I fell to the demons' temptation and opened the gates to them. Paint me as the idiot who doomed his own kingdom."

A thick, oppressive silence descended over the area.

Reinhardt remained rooted, eyes locked on Giacomo.

Devoted to an idiot... that's what crossed his mind upon hearing the request.

Betrayed by his sovereign.

Exploited by the demons.

Compelled to massacre all he vowed to defend.

Yet still... he wouldn't allow his kingdom or king's honor to be sullied.

Confronted by this reckless plea, Reinhardt let out a heavy sigh and shut his eyes.

"I'll consider it."

No firm commitment came from him.

The Lunaris catastrophe was far too vast to bury completely.

Eventually, the truth of these events would surface.

Moreover, to rally the Seven Kingdoms—now six—and form a united force for a crusade into the Tainted Lands' heart, he needed this incident to expose the demons' terror to all.

Hiding behind walls forever wouldn't ensure safety.

Naturally, to honor this warrior, Reinhardt would gloss over certain elements.

Noticing Reinhardt's openness, Giacomo's shoulders eased a touch.

Like the last burden had finally slipped away.

He was on the verge of voicing his thanks when the earth suddenly shook.

Then... It heaved wildly.

An ferocious quake seemed to flip the whole city on its head.

The meaty walls encircling the city spasmed fiercely, yanking structures inward.

The city itself was shifting.

Simultaneously, a deep, rumbling growl resounded from below.

The abrupt motion snapped Reinhardt from his reverie.

"Seems like it's starting."

Giacomo scanned the area before fixing his gaze on Reinhardt.

"You grasp the implications... right? The Nest... It's mobile now. Let it expand more, and it won't just devour Lunaris—the nearby lands will fall too. Destroy it before it advances."

Reinhardt knew full well the Nest's danger, even unspoken.

"No need to fret. You've contributed plenty. Knights wait outside. They'll ensure it stays put."

"I understand..."

A fleeting wave of ease washed over Giacomo.

"Then let's finish what we began."

With that, the shattered knight grasped his blade in his remaining hand.

Despite losing his right arm, despite gushing blood and ebbing vitality second by second, the moment the hero seized his sword, his aura transformed utterly.

To the unaware, the knight appeared perfectly hale, as if the fight were only commencing.

Teetering on death's edge, minus one limb, Sir Giacomo still commanded fearsome might.

"For this last attack, I’ll pour all my strength into it. So... watch yourself, Sir Reinhardt."

While clenching his sword tighter, a pale, blood-streaked smile formed on his lips.

"Very well, I’ll take you on."

Reinhardt wasted no words and seized his blade.

The instant both heroes' swords aimed at one another, the atmosphere grew heavy.

All motion halted for one brief instant. Even the twisting Nest quieted down, as though it sensed peril on instinct.

Ignoring it, the two heroes locked eyes.

Their battle demanded a decisive end.

This clash would settle everything.

No probing, no mercy, no restraint.

Unleash total might to crush the foe.

Giacomo struck first.

Or rather, he vanished from sight in a flash.

The earth cracked beneath him as he launched ahead, creating a void that imploded with a booming crash.

His blade carved a path through the sky.

A flawless curve.

Motionless and silent, yet radiating bone-deep terror.

Whatever the edge grazed vanished entirely.

This was Giacomo’s supreme move.

The pinnacle of his knightly existence.

[Absolute Stillness – Final Horizon].

The slash descended without clamor or burst of energy.

Just an eerie, devouring quiet that wiped out all in its wake.

Even the throbbing Abyss flesh shrank back, dreading that hush more than raw annihilation.

Reinhardt, however, made no explosive dash or surge.

Remaining rooted, he calmly swung his sword without haste or effort.

His golden gaze blazed like solar fire, unveiling a fresh ability for the first time in ages.

A technique hidden from the world until now.

The perfect moment had arrived.

Reinhardt lifted his sword, light coiling along its edge.

Tiny wisps of luminescence swirled like mist.

Dim yet crushingly intense.

They embodied pure elevation itself.

A might beyond human bounds, an evasive-defying transcendent blow.

"[Ascendant Strike]."

Reinhardt whispered softly while swinging his blade.

Ascendant Strike-

The strike unleashes a shockwave purging corruption, etching a radiant mark on the battlefield while briefly quelling dark forces nearby.

With the swing, reality fractured.

The two strikes collided.

Stillness against Ascension.

For a split second, balance held between the assaults.

An ideal deadlock of humanity's apex warriors.

Then [Ascendant Strike] overwhelmed all.

Giacomo’s technique crumbled, his sword and body shattering alongside.

In a flash, he erased from existence as if never there.

The spot he occupied and dozens of meters around got devoured by blinding white vortex.

The [Ascendant Strike] raged on past Giacomo.

It barreled forth as a soaring beam of otherworldly might, ripping apart obstacles relentlessly.

The wrecked palace... obliterated.

Capital streets... wiped clean.

Demons swarming the city... incinerated mid-screech.

At last, the Abyss Nest faced judgment.

The Nest wailed.

A nightmarish, earth-rattling cry that reverberated through the streets.

That agonized howl alone revealed the Nest wasn’t merely hurt—it was perishing.

Beneath the luminous haze, its layers of tissue sloughed off, structures and debris pulverized to nothingness.

Reinhardt’s blow didn’t just harm; it dominated utterly.

Such invincible force that even an endlessly spawning, healing horror like the Abyss Nest couldn’t withstand.