Regressing as the Reincarnated Bastard of the Sword Clan

Chapter 187

Torkel’s words carried undeniable truth.

If the Dragon Emperor, with his intimate knowledge of Ragnar’s structure, had founded Troivan, it would naturally include recreations of Ragnar’s famed four military divisions.

It wasn’t surprising, then, that there were new versions of the White Armor Vanguard and Black Iron Brigade.

“I couldn’t choose my birth brothers, but those,” Torkel said, his grin widening cruelly, “are my true brothers, chosen by me.”

His laughter grew louder, laced with malice.

“Little brother, today, with your deaths, I’ll show the world where the real Ragnar lies.”

It seemed they no longer intended to hide their true identity.

The destruction of the White Armor Vanguard would undoubtedly send shockwaves through the Empire and beyond.

From the start, this had been a trap.

A stage set to destroy the White Armor Vanguard and elevate Troivan’s influence.

“So, you’re planning to broadcast Ragnar’s dysfunction to the entire world?” Theo said, his voice sharp.

“Did this family ever have any honor to lose in the first place?” Torkel sneered, raising his hand high.

At his signal, the advancing Black Iron Brigade raised their spears to a 45-degree angle.

The new White Armor Vanguard, meanwhile, began loading mana projectiles.

The moment Torkel’s hand came down, the assault began.

“Everyone, prepare defenses!”

Theo’s voice boomed, charged with mana, as he swung the Drake Fang upward with all his might.

SWOOSH!

Aura surged from the blade, rising into the air and spreading out to form a temporary shield.

It wasn’t powerful enough to block the full force of the attack, but it could at least mitigate some of the damage.

“Damn it! Those Black Snow bastards never gave us intel about this! Are they even working at all?” Amore shouted in frustration.

“Unit 1 and all squad leaders, activate your domain skills!”

“Regular members, focus on protecting yourselves!”

Amore and Unit 1 abandoned their attempts to engage Torkel, instead joining Theo in reinforcing the shield.

Within moments, several layers of aura shields formed, and the less experienced members cloaked themselves in personal aura barriers.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Torkel and the Black Iron Brigade began retreating to the outskirts of the battlefield.

Then the bombardment intensified.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

CRASH! RUMBLE!

Relentless attacks hammered down on Theo and the White Armor Vanguard, filling the area with thick clouds of dust.

The ground collapsed, flames roared skyward, and black smoke billowed, turning the altar and surrounding area into a wasteland.

Yet the forces of Troivan didn’t stop.

It was as if they intended to erase every trace of Ragnar’s White Armor Vanguard from existence.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The tremors continued without pause.

“At last… it’s finally in my hands,” Torkel murmured.

He had reached the fully bloomed Black Flower and slashed it with his spear.

The flower, nourished by the blood of ten thousand Blood Cult followers and countless Black Iron Brigade soldiers, gleamed like a black pearl. Its beauty was mesmerizing.

But with a swift cut, the flower shattered like fragile glass.

In its place remained a single black orb, as dark as Torkel’s own eyes.

HUMMMM!

Torkel extended his hand, grasping the black orb.

In an instant, an immense wave of madness and dark energy surged through his palm, forcing its way into his body.

His mana, which had flowed smoothly moments ago, churned violently as if on the verge of exploding.

Veins bulged across his arm, turning his entire forearm a sickly blue.

Despite the excruciating pain, Torkel laughed.

This orb was the treasure his grandfather had coveted for so long.

“The Orb of Disgrace… containing the will of that entity. If Grandfather absorbs it, he’ll surely ascend to the position of High Priest.”

The sudden sealing of <The Nameless Sovereign> had been catastrophic for the Blood Cult, but for the Dragon Emperor and Troivan, it had presented a new opportunity.

Currently, the Dragon Emperor held the rank of Fifth Apostle within the cult.

Although the title of “Apostle” carried great prestige, it also reflected the Dragon Emperor’s relatively weak position as the newest member of the Blood Cult.

But the Orb of Disgrace would change that entirely.

It would allow him to shed the human guise he had been forced to wear.

To ascend.

To become a god.

The key to transcending mortality and reaching divinity lay within this orb.

The Dragon Emperor sought nothing less than godhood.

And once he ascended, Torkel would serve as his apostle, eliminating or uniting the remaining factions within the Blood Cult, merging Troivan with Ragnar, and ruling the world.

This was the plan they had devised together, grandfather and grandson.

Torkel trembled with exhilaration, already envisioning the world in his grasp.

CRACK!

He clenched his fist, shattering the Orb of Disgrace.

The released madness and dark energy surged through every pore of his body.

SHHHHH!

As it flowed into him, Torkel’s eyes grew darker and darker, until they were completely black.

***

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Amid the chaos of explosions, Theo strained his senses, focusing his heightened perception on Torkel’s every move.

Far ahead, he spotted Torkel under the protection of the Black Iron Brigade, attempting to absorb the black orb.

Theo’s heart pounded erratically at the sight, his vision narrowing as his entire being honed in on the orb.

Thump-thump-thump-thump!

A sudden, primal desire surged within him—a whisper from deep inside.

—I want it.

Theo flinched.

‘…What was that?’

He was taken aback by his own thoughts.

Why did such a craving suddenly overwhelm him?

—Take it.

The whisper came again, sweet and seductive, like a devil’s temptation.

—If you take it, you’ll grow far stronger than you are now.

The orb felt strangely familiar to Theo, though he had never seen it before.

Or had he?

‘No, I’ve seen something like this before. But where?’

Thump-thump-thump!

As the pounding in his chest grew louder, the realization struck him.

‘The orb from Father’s sword!’

Kyle had once given Theo a warped blade, a relic of a past battle, along with the orb embedded within it.

Though Theo never learned the original owner of the sword, the orb inside had often guided him with bursts of inspiration, honing his swordsmanship.

He had always assumed the sword’s former master was a legendary swordsman.

Now, seeing Torkel’s orb, it all made sense.

‘That sword… it belonged to the Dragon Emperor.’

Theo’s mind cleared as the pieces fell into place.

Kyle must have foreseen this moment and prepared Theo for it.

‘He anticipated I’d face something like this one day… and equipped me to resist its madness.’

WHOOSH!

Theo’s vision, which had narrowed on the orb, expanded once again.

‘No, not just resist… to claim it for myself!’

The temptation Theo felt wasn’t his own but came from the orb Kyle had given him.

Just as Torkel sought to amplify his madness with the black orb, Theo’s sword orb yearned to devour it, replenishing its own power.

However, Theo maintained his composure, refusing to be swept away by the orb’s will.

If he succumbed, he wouldn’t remain Theo Ragnar but would instead become a vessel—an incomplete Dragon Emperor.

Kyle might have trusted him to claim the black orb, but Theo wasn’t about to take unnecessary risks.

He turned his focus outward.

‘Kertho.’

?I’ve been waiting for your call.?

Kerthosucus’s amused voice echoed in Theo’s mind, and a message appeared before him:

[The Legion of Dragons descends.]

BOOOOM!

The earth beneath the Black Iron Brigade’s formation shook violently as massive desert wyrms erupted from below, their jaws gaping wide.

“Damn it…!”

“Form the line!”

The Black Iron Brigade scrambled to retreat, but the loosened ground caught their armored warhorses, slowing their movements.

The wyrms wasted no time, snapping up soldiers and horses alike.

The battlefield was filled with the desperate screams of men and the dying cries of horses.

KREEEEEAAAH!

The White Armor Vanguard’s enemies weren’t spared either.

Above, griffins tore into wyverns, ripping at their throats, while fairy dragons unleashed icy arrows that shredded the wyverns’ wings.

More dragons emerged, throwing the battlefield into utter chaos.

“We’re saved!”

“Those bastards thought they could toy with us? Now it’s our turn!”

The White Armor Vanguard, having endured the relentless assault, rallied with renewed vigor.

Their faces burned with determination as they broke into squads, scattering to exact vengeance on those who had betrayed and disgraced their family.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

The battlefield descended into a chaotic melee.

Meanwhile, Theo extended his right hand toward Torkel.

‘Orb of the Rising Sun.’

HUUUUUUUM!

Above Torkel’s head, a brilliant yellow sphere of lightning formed, spinning like a vortex.

It greedily absorbed every bit of energy nearby—including the madness and dark energy seeping from the black orb in Torkel’s hand.

“What… is this?!”

This was Theo’s first time deploying the Orb of the Rising Sun, and even Torkel was caught off guard.

He gritted his teeth, desperately trying to absorb as much of the black orb’s energy as possible.

But while Torkel managed to claim one unit of its power, the Orb of the Rising Sun consumed ten.

In mere moments, the sphere grew into a massive black-spotted sun, ominously hanging in the sky.

‘It’s heavy.’

Theo felt an intense pressure weighing on both his soul and body. The Orb of the Rising Sun now held all the accumulated energy of the black orb, radiating a heat that threatened to overwhelm him.

“You said you wanted to sever all ties with Ragnar,” Theo growled. “Fine. I’ll make sure that happens.”

“No, wait…!”

Torkel reached for his spear in a panic, but Theo acted first.

With a forceful swing of the Drake Fang, he unleashed his technique.

<Solar Eclipse>.

SLASH!

A long line appeared across the massive sun.

The Orb of the Rising Sun shattered into countless pieces, each fragment transforming into bolts of lightning that rained down across the battlefield.

KRA-BOOM!

The devastating light engulfed the formations of Troivan’s Black Iron Brigade and White Armor Vanguard, leaving their soldiers obscured in the radiant storm.