The weapons I forge are absolutely flawless.

If it continues to be used in combat, it will probably be completely destroyed in a short time.

The Demon Blade Thousand Blades spread its blades apart and made a nodding gesture.

It is a demonic blade that only attacks and has no defense, preferring to burn itself out in battle rather than become a burden.

“Then go ahead.” Felix respected its choice.

The next moment, the Demon Blade Thousand Blades suddenly turned into thousands of fragments and poured into the furnace.

Its addition caused the various sword fragments in the furnace to rapidly fuse together, no longer repelling each other. After the sword spirit was awakened, the broken sword bodies also began to fuse.

As time passed, these fragments gradually coalesced into a longsword that emitted a deep purple glow.

“It’s done!” With a wave of his hand, the newly forged purple sword flew out of the furnace and hovered in front of him.

A faint glow flowed across the surface of the sword, as if it contained boundless power.

"So many swords, but in the end only one remains." Felix gazed at the purple sword, his eyes filled with regret.

“Who said it’s just a sword?” Venere reached out and grasped the purple sword.

In an instant, dozens of familiar phantom spirits appeared around him, each weapon's outline clearly visible, as if the past had reappeared.

"This, this, this—" Felix's eyes widened, especially when he saw the spirit form of the Demon Blade Thousand Blades, he was so excited that he was incoherent.

"Its name is, the Heavenly Sword."

With a gentle wave of his longsword, the phantoms danced in response, radiating a powerful aura.

This is not an illusion, but the real return of all swords to one.

-----------------

"Sword King's Sword:"

Weapon type: Sword

Weapon Rank: S

Usage restrictions: Wiener, Felix

characteristic:

All things are cut: The Sword King's sword possesses unparalleled sharpness, capable of slicing through any material or barrier with a single blow. Even space and time cannot hinder its slashing trajectory.

King of Swords: The wielder of this sword will exude an aura of intimidation, weakening the enemy's fighting spirit and ability to act. If the enemy is a swordsman, the aura will be multiplied up to three times based on the difference in swordsmanship level and weapon rank between the two.

Soul Imprint: The Sword King's Sword automatically records the wielder's fighting style and integrates it into their own characteristics. With each intense battle, the sword's power slightly increases, eventually evolving into a unique ultimate weapon.

.........

"Celestial Sword: "

Weapon type: Sword

Weapon Rank: S

Usage restrictions: Wiener

characteristic:

Sword Transformation: The Celestial Sword can simultaneously release up to thirty-six spirit flying swords, each of which can be used as an A-rank weapon and can freely transform between the real and the illusory.

One is all, and all is one: The Celestial Sword inherits the characteristics of all weapons used as forging materials, allowing the user to select four characteristics as the current characteristic at any time and change them upon the next use. This enables the user to adjust tactics according to the battlefield environment and enemy weaknesses, adapting to any situation.

Chapter 678 The Door-Knocking Hero

Five days after the fall of Solbaku Pass, the atmosphere in the Kingdom's army camp was somber.

"What are these garrison commanders good for! I told them to hold the pass for a week and I would surely arrive with reinforcements, but they couldn't even hold it for a single day!"

Perez, enraged, slammed his riding whip on the table with a sharp crack.

As a border general guarding the Ogara Wasteland, Perez has been responsible for resisting the demons and beast tides for many years and has never failed.

However, a month ago, an order suddenly came from the capital, requiring him to lead his troops to intercept the imperial army led by Edel.

At first, he was skeptical. Could the imperial army really be so valiant that it would require mobilizing his border troops across most of the kingdom to provide support?

But reality soon taught him a lesson.

Before Perez's troops even reached the designated battlefield, Edel's vanguard advanced triumphantly, so much so that he received no fewer than seven orders to change the destination.

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Perez immediately sent a letter to the Solbaku Pass, demanding that the garrison hold out for seven days no matter what.

As long as he can slow down the Imperial Army's advance, he can lead the border troops to annihilate the Imperial Army from within and without.

However, what he received was not a reply from the garrison, but news of the fall of the Solbaku Pass.

Perez could not abandon the capital, but to aid the capital, he had to first capture the Solbaku Pass, which was occupied by the imperial forces.

Just as he was racking his brains about how to conquer Solbaku Pass, the scouts he had sent to gather information finally returned.

"General, it appears that Solbaku Pass has become a ghost town," the scout reported.

"An empty city?" Perez looked puzzled and continued, "Did you go inside to check?"

"No, General. There are no flags flying at Solbaku Pass, and not a single garrison can be seen on the walls," the scout reported.

“Then it might just be a trap left by the Empire,” Perez picked up his riding whip and cracked it sharply. “Send the order down: the entire army shall set off immediately, target: Solbaku Pass!”

-----------------

"Is it really a good idea for us to just give up on the Solbaku Pass like this?"

As Edel rode on her horse, she looked back at the receding outline of the pass, the majestic fortress shrinking ever smaller in her sight.

"Why didn't you reject the plan when Vina proposed it?" Kurori asked, turning her head to the side.

I thought you would object—

"Oh, I see. I thought you did this because you trusted Wiener."

Chlorie's words instantly rendered Edel speechless.

“...You’re right,” Adele lowered her head and sighed helplessly. “If anyone else had proposed such a risky plan, I would never have agreed to it.”

While they were struggling with how to allocate troops and who should be in charge of resisting the kingdom's reinforcements, Vena made an extremely bold decision after learning about the commander of the reinforcements.

That would mean leaving no troops to garrison the pass and simply handing it over to Solbaku.

If one were to choose the army in the entire kingdom that hates demons the most, it would undoubtedly be the border troops led by Perez.

This force, stationed year-round in the Ogara Wasteland, fighting against monsters and demons, is the most valiant and skilled warrior in the kingdom, but also suffers the highest casualty rate.

One of the necessary conditions for joining it is to bear the blood debt with the demon race.

For these soldiers, staying in this unit was not for glory or power, but more for revenge and to prevent more people like them from appearing.

The commander of this unit, Perez, is also a legendary figure.

He could have risen to the capital and become a military giant based on his accumulated military merits, but he chose to stay on the frontier to fight for a chance of survival for his wounded soldiers.

It would be most appropriate to have someone like this as a witness.

As the two were talking, Juno hurriedly caught up with them, "Lady Chlorie, the Kingdom's army has already entered the pass and will soon discover our presence."

Upon hearing this, Chlorie nodded slightly, then turned her gaze to Edel, her tone becoming more urgent: "Then we need to speed things up too."

She roughly guessed what Vina meant: she hoped this border troops could also become an aid in defeating Labbel.

Therefore, before exposing the true nature of La Belle, it is even more important to avoid clashing with them to prevent unnecessary losses and misunderstandings.

"Pass on my order: the entire army accelerates forward, target Gracia!" Edel decisively gave the order.

"Yes!" Sigurd responded and left, quickly relaying the order.

Upon receiving the order, the soldiers around him rallied their spirits, and the previously steady marching pace immediately quickened.

At the same time, the border troops that had just captured the Solbaku Pass also noticed something amiss.

When they discovered that Edel was leading her army to take a shortcut straight to the capital, they could no longer afford to rest and immediately went out of the city to give chase.

As they drew closer to the capital, a figure blocked the path of the army.

A centurion rode forward and volunteered, "General, there is someone blocking our way. She is an enemy, not a friend. I will lead my men to capture her immediately!"

"No rudeness."

Perez waved away the arrogant subordinate, then dismounted and walked towards the woman.

"Greetings, Lady Tilisa." Perez bowed respectfully.

"Thank you for remembering me, General Perez." Tilissa nodded slightly in return.

"Lady Tilisa, you flatter me. If it weren't for your and the Hero's help, how could I be standing here unharmed?" Perez said sincerely, his words filled with gratitude.

During her previous search for the Holy Sword, Tilisa had met Perez once.

At that time, the border troops were besieging a demon in the Ogara Wasteland.

Even though the border troops are quite strong, the cost of defeating a demon would be extremely high.

Just when the situation was at its most critical, Tilisa and the hero arrived.

“There must have been some misunderstanding between you and the kingdom,” Perez said apologetically.

He didn't believe that Tilisa would commit the crimes of harming a hero and colluding with the demons. After hearing the news, he sent several letters to the capital to inquire about the details, but the replies he received were evasive.

Perez only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that the Holy Knights had safely left the capital.

But now it seems that the storm has not yet subsided.

"Whether it's a misunderstanding or not, I'm afraid it's not something you or I can decide," Tissa shook her head.

Perez remained silent for a moment before finally speaking: "Although you have been kind to me, if you intend to harm the kingdom, I cannot stand idly by."

Tissa gazed at him: "What if I said that Labbel was the one who led the kingdom into the abyss?"

“Even Lady Tilissa shouldn’t make such a joke.” Perez frowned.

Instead of arguing, Tissa calmly offered a suggestion: "Arios will be confronting Labbel later. Whether to fight or make peace, let the general decide after he has read this, shall we?"

Seeing that the other side had also brought up the hero, Perez hesitated a bit. Seeing this, Tilisa pressed her advantage: "If it were just to delay the general, we wouldn't have handed over Solbaku Pass so easily."

“Then I will trust Lady Tilisa this once.” These words finally made Perez make up his mind. “If I cannot prove what you said in the end, don’t blame me for turning my back on you.”

“Ah, thank you for your understanding, General.” Tilissa nodded again.

Just after the two reached an agreement, the allied forces stopped five miles from the capital.

Having disguised himself as Arios, Vena took only one person with him and headed straight for the capital city.

The defenders did not want to stop him, but after the rain of arrows was fired, they were all blocked by an invisible force field, and none of them could get close. They could only watch helplessly as Venus approached.

When they were only a hundred meters from the city wall, Vena stopped and shouted, "Label! You have the guts to ambush me, Arios, but you'd better come out and confront me!"

Chapter 679 Standoff Under the Royal City

"Voice!"

Listy slammed her staff down, and Venus's voice instantly resounded throughout the entire capital like a booming bell.

This is not simply amplification of volume, but rather a magical transmission of his voice directly into everyone's ears, so that no one can block the sound, whether they are hiding deep inside a house or behind a barrier.

"This is—the voice of the Hero?" These words also reached Perez's ears.

He looked around and found that he wasn't the only one who heard the sound; the soldiers around him also looked puzzled. Only Tissa looked towards the capital with an air of confidence.

“Label, are you feeling guilty?” Vina called out again, her tone carrying a hint of authority and provocation.

This question was like a thunderclap, causing even the soldiers on the royal city walls to stop what they were doing.

They weren't sure who the person below the city was, but if it really was the hero, and they fired arrows like that, they might be accused of attacking the hero afterward, which would be troublesome.

Such thoughts spread through everyone's minds, and the originally dense rain of arrows gradually thinned out.

Even the general on the city wall did not order another shot, but instead sent a quick-thinking soldier to the palace to report the sudden situation to His Majesty.

"Why stop firing arrows?" Before the soldier in charge of relaying the order had gone far, Franz strode up the city wall and glanced at the general on duty.

"The other party claims to be the Hero," the general replied in a low voice.

"Even if the other party is Arios, and he's already preparing to attack the capital, are you still going to just hand it over?"