This Bastard is Too Competent Chapter 227 - Nothing Can Ever Stop My Steps

 

 

The Black Knights, led by Vector, charged forward.

 

“Enemy incoming! Block them!”

 

“Heavy infantry, form up! Stop the knights’ advance!”

 

The Second Prince’s shield bearers raised their shields, forming an iron wall. No matter how strong the enemy knights were, breaking through such a defense wouldn’t be easy. However, Vector’s eyes gleamed ominously.

 

He was Vector, the Annihilation Lord, once an equal to the Guardian Knight himself.

 

“Pointless.”

 

Extending his hand, he clenched his fist.

 

Crack!

 

The iron shields collapsed like paper. With a single gesture, hundreds of shield bearers were crushed under the weight of their own defenses.

 

The Second Prince’s commanders shouted in panic.

 

“Don’t cluster together! If we stay grouped, we’ll be wiped out!”

 

“Archers, fire! Use explosives to disrupt them!”

 

They attempted to spread their forces to avoid Vector’s attacks, but Vector and his knights were too experienced.

 

“T-They’re avoiding the traps and flanking us!”

 

“The left flank is breached! The enemy is advancing on the archers!”

 

There was no time to retreat. Within moments, the Second Prince’s archers were slaughtered.

And it wasn’t just them—

 

“C-Commander! Watch out! The enemy—Agh!”

 

“What do you mean? Where—Ahhh!”

 

The Black Knights ignored the infantry, targeting archers and commanders instead. With their chain of command severed, the army fell into disarray.

 

“Where’s the battalion commander?! Has anyone seen him?”

 

“Dead! The vice commander, too—wait, where’s the legion commander?”

 

“Gone! The regimental commander as well! Only lieutenants are left!”

 

“What did you just say?!”

 

It was total chaos. Only a dozen knights were tearing through an army tens of thousands strong.

Their armor was so impenetrable that the soldiers’ attacks barely left a scratch.

 

Desperate, the remaining commanders called for their own knights.

 

“Sir! The knights must intervene!”

 

“…Um.”

 

“Sir?”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

The knights hesitated and slowly backed away. Frustrated, the commanders shouted.

 

“What do you mean ‘sorry’?! Can’t you see the enemy charging at us?! If they break through, the entire army will fall!”

 

“We know.”

 

“Then deploy—”

 

“We can’t.”

 

“…What?”

 

“If we go out there, we’ll just become more corpses on the battlefield.”

 

Their words were grim, yet honest. The Black Knights were far stronger than them. Some of their fellow knights had already attempted to fight back—only to be butchered instantly. Even with their loyalty to the Crown Prince, they couldn’t throw away their lives in a hopeless battle.

 

One of the commanders pounded his chest in frustration.

 

“How can you say that?! The Crown Prince himself is watching this battle!”

 

“We know. That’s why we leave this to you.”

 

“W-What do you mean?”

 

“We’ll protect His Highness. You handle the battlefield.”

 

“S-Sir! Where are you going?!”

 

The knights rushed toward the Crown Prince’s position. They claimed they were protecting him—but no soldier was naïve enough to believe that.

 

They were retreating.

 

They were fleeing.

 

The remaining soldiers turned to Commander Aaron in desperation.

 

“Commander! What are your orders?!”

 

“At this rate, they’ll reach the Crown Prince!”

 

The battlefield had collapsed. With their commanders dead, the soldiers were scattered and helpless. The knights they once relied on had abandoned them.

 

Only Regimental Commander Aaron remained, along with the thousands of men still looking to him for guidance.

 

Aaron’s eyes hardened. He made his decision.

 

“We have no choice. Everyone, advance! Don’t let them reach the Crown Prince!”

 

“B-But Commander—!”

 

“Whether we die here or retreat and die protecting the Crown Prince—it makes no difference!”

 

His voice echoed across the battlefield.

 

“Fulfill your duty, soldiers!”

 

A tense silence followed. Then, the men gritted their teeth and straightened their backs.

 

“It has been an honor, Commander.”

 

“We’ll go first.”

 

They saluted Aaron— and charged into battle.

 

But at that very moment—

 

Thud!

 

A knight descended from the sky.

 

“I-It’s the enemy!”

 

“It’s their leader! Stop him!”

 

The moment Vector, the leader of the Black Knights, arrived, he swiftly decapitated several soldiers. In an instant, dozens fell. Only Commander Aaron remained, but he, too, was in dire straits.

 

“Is this the last remaining commander?”

 

Swish!

 

Vector swung his sword with ease, yet the force sent Aaron’s body hurtling through the air. The sheer power was overwhelming. Aaron barely managed to block with his sword, but the impact shattered his senses, and he collapsed.

 

A Black Knight approached Vector.

 

“It looks like all the commanders have been taken care of.”

 

Nod.

 

The black knight nodded. Then, a chilling smile spread across Vector’s lips.

 

“That only leaves the Second Prince… and the cowards.”

 

The knight nodded again.

 

“I will handle the Second Prince. Brothers, deal with the remaining soldiers and cowards. Drown this battlefield in blood—for Lord Leon.”

 

[“Understood!”]

 

At Vector’s command, the Black Knights dispersed in all directions. Until now, they had only targeted commanders before retreating, but this time, they slaughtered everyone in sight without hesitation.

 

“Ugh…”

 

Vector heard a faint groan.

 

“Oh? Still alive?”

 

Just as he was about to finish off Aaron, something flew toward him at high speed.

 

“Hm?”

 

Vector instinctively raised his sword.

 

Boom!

 

It wasn’t just the sound of metal clashing. The impact sent Vector hurtling backward, slamming him into the ground.

 

***

   

“My lord!”

 

Galon’s shocked voice rang out. It was understandable.

 

“You threw the only sword on the battlefield? That sword is the royal family’s treasured weapon!”

 

“It’s fine, Sir Galon.”

 

A person’s life was more valuable than a sword. The proof of that lay before them—Aaron, barely clinging to life, spared from Vector’s finishing blow.

 

“Ugh…”

 

‘Just in time.’

 

Most of the Second Prince’s commanders had been killed. But by sacrificing the royal sword, Ian had saved the last remaining commander.

 

‘Even after his knights abandoned him, he fulfilled his duty to the end. A man like him must not die here.’

 

Ian’s eyes gleamed as he looked at Aaron. A capable commander had just fallen into his hands. But when Ian turned his attention back to Vector, he was taken aback.

 

‘He blocked that?’

 

Ian hadn’t just thrown the royal sword—he had activated its unique properties. By increasing its weight to the maximum, he had hurled it with tremendous force, its mass comparable to that of a mountain. Only Ian, as its rightful owner, could wield it without being burdened. Yet even with that weight, he hadn’t dealt a significant blow to Vector.

 

“Sir Galon, be cautious. These knights are no ordinary foes.”

 

“Please take my sword, Your Highness.”

 

“There are plenty lying around.”

 

Ian gestured at the fallen soldiers’ weapons scattered across the ground. There was no need to take Galon’s personal blade. Just then, Nathan approached.

 

“We were a bit late… Nearly all the commanders have fallen.”

 

In such a short time, every commander had been wiped out. The remaining soldiers would soon meet the same fate unless something changed. Ian quickly assessed the battlefield.

 

“Only the commanders have fallen. The soldiers still stand.”

 

Since he had just saved the last remaining commander, it wouldn’t be accurate to say that all the commanders were dead. With that in mind, Ian called out to the fallen Aaron.

 

“Soldier! Do you plan to stay down?!”

 

“N-no! I-I can stand!”

 

“Then take command of your troops! The battle is not over!”

 

“Y-yes, sir!”

 

Gritting his teeth, Aaron clutched his throbbing head and pushed himself to his feet. Without hesitation, Ian began issuing orders.

 

“Order the soldiers to retreat and regroup. Do not engage directly—focus on evasion and scatter the enemy.”

 

Aaron immediately relayed the command.

 

“Everyone, reform ranks! Do not allow the enemy to close in!”

 

At the sound of his voice, the panicked troops steadied themselves. The once-scattered formations reorganized, moving swiftly to widen the distance between themselves and the Black Knights. As the soldiers pulled back, the enemy hesitated for the first time.

 

Ian turned to his knights.

 

“Sir Galon. Sir Nathan. Take charge of the troops. From here on, we take them down one by one.”

 

“Yes, my lord!”

 

Galon responded without hesitation. Nathan, however, shouted back while fending off an enemy knight.

 

“And what about you, Your Highness?!”

 

“I will—”

 

At that moment—

 

Bang!

 

A deafening sound rang out as something hurtled through the air. It was the royal sword, still carrying the immense weight Ian had infused into it when he first threw it. However, instead of panicking, Ian calmly sidestepped and caught the sword by its handle.

 

Thud!

 

The force was so great that Ian was pushed back several steps. But he remained unharmed.

 

Woong.

 

At some point, Ian had already activated Galon’s Oath—Invincibility. Gripping the royal sword, he locked eyes with Vector, who radiated a murderous aura.

 

“I’ll take care of this one.”

 

Ian smirked and raised his sword.

 

***

 

Vector raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Not bad. You actually stopped that?”

 

The royal sword was immensely heavy. Vector had thrown it with his full strength, yet Ian had merely been pushed back upon catching it. That meant Ian was far stronger than he had anticipated.

 

Ian, unfazed, replied, “I find it more surprising that you were able to throw it in the first place.”

 

As its rightful owner, Ian felt no weight when wielding the sword. But for Vector, wielding it should have been akin to lifting a mountain. Yet not only had he caught it—he had launched it back with equal force.

 

Vector smirked. “It’s been a long time since I’ve faced a worthy opponent.”

 

A dark, sinister aura erupted from his body—the power of the Seven Sins, granted to him by his master, Lord Leon. And now, he was fusing it with his own Oath.

 

[Crush everything that stands in my lord’s way and advance.]

 

As Vector’s Oath activated, everything around him twisted and shattered. The corpses of fallen soldiers, the broken weapons, even the ground itself—all were crushed and compressed beneath his overwhelming power.

 

Galon and Nathan, witnessing the destruction, shouted in shock.

 

“T-that Oath… It can’t be!”

 

“No way… Is he… Vector, the Annihilation Lord?!”

 

It was no wonder they were stunned. There was only one man capable of such destruction.

 

Vector, the Annihilation Lord.

 

Among the three legendary knights, only the Guardian Knight and one other could wield such miraculous power. Yet, Vector wasn’t just formidable—he was stronger than ever.

 

“Wait… wasn’t he supposed to be older? He looks like he’s our age.”

 

“I was thinking the same, Nathan… Something isn’t right.”

 

Vector appeared just as young as Galon and Nathan, making him an even greater threat.

 

“My lord, allow us to face him,” Galon urged.

 

“That’s right, Your Highness. A foe like this should be left to us,” Nathan added.

 

Normally, even the strongest knights would experience some decline with age. Yet, Vector seemed untouched by time. With the strength and speed of his youth, coupled with years of honing his Oath, facing him was no easy feat. Even Nathan felt the weight of the battle ahead.

 

‘Even if Galon and I charged in together, we couldn’t be sure of the outcome against someone this powerful.’

 

Not only was victory uncertain, but there was also a high chance of outright defeat. They couldn’t allow Ian to face such an opponent alone. But Ian simply smiled.

 

“Don’t worry. If I were up against the Guardian Knight or Duke Lavaltor, it might be different—but against anyone else, I won’t back down so easily.”

 

Ian grinned. He could sense it—Vector’s Oath was infused with the power of the Seven Sins. If his opponent had been a knight who had purely honed his skills through training, this battle might have been much more difficult.

 

Woong!

 

As Vector, the Annihilation Lord, unleashed his power, another force surged within Ian’s body. The energy of four different Seven Virtues resonated within him.

 

‘If this is a clash between the Seven Sins and the Seven Virtues… I have the advantage.’

 

But Ian possessed more than just the Seven Virtues. The Seven Sins that lay dormant within him stirred violently.

 

Grrrrr…

 

[Oh? This power…?]

 

Fury roared to life, and the Jealousy that had been sealed within Patience was unleashed. A tremendous surge of energy erupted from Ian’s body.

 

Vector’s eyes narrowed.

 

“You really are dangerous. If I don’t eliminate you here, you’ll become a major obstacle in Lord Leon’s path.” His gaze darkened. “I’ll destroy you, kid.”

 

“Big words for someone about to lose,” Ian shot back.

 

As Vector’s Oath intensified, Ian raised his sword in response.

 

Woong.

 

At that moment, Faith surged through Ian’s body. The power of the Seven Virtues and the power of the Seven Sins resonated with it, intertwining as they spread through him.

 

[Nothing in this world shall hinder my path!]

 

With Faith blazing within him, Ian lunged forward. At the same time, Vector brought his sword down, unleashing the full might of his Oath.

 

Boom!

 

The amplified force of Faith clashed head-on with Vector’s Oath, sending shockwaves through the battlefield.