Why must the devil be Defeated?
Chapter 344 - 343 The second place living in the shadow

Chapter 344: 343 The second place living in the shadow

"————!"

Shane turned abruptly, looking behind him.

There, magic power surged endlessly like a volcanic eruption, continuously spewing forth.

However, the outpouring of magic was not aimless.

Shane could clearly see that as the magic surged, a pair of pure white wings were slowly taking shape, unfurling behind a figure.

The opposing figure, spreading such wings of magic power, ascended into mid-air.

"... I really didn’t expect to be pushed to use this move by someone other than Luoqi and Lusti from my peers."

The Empire Princess, holding a replica of the Holy Sword, looked down at Shane from on high with an icy demeanor, her eyes having turned silver, reflecting off her white wings behind her.

That posture was akin to that of a true Valkyrie.

But as Shane beheld this Valkyrie who seemed angelic, his expression grew heavy.

For, ever since a moment ago, his "Magic Perception" Skill had been sending him wild alerts, informing him of how dangerous the enemy before him had become.

Shane knew what this meant.

For someone to demonstrate such a dramatic and irrational change and receive such a terrifying increase in strength, as far as he knew, there was only one other Skill besides the Holy Sword.

"Unique Skill..."

The Empire Princess had indeed played her true trump card.

"Indeed, you possess a Unique Skill?"

Shane calmed himself.

Cappelen spoke with an emotionless expression.

"Isn’t it only natural for us of the Ragnar Empire Royal Family, descendants of the Hero, to possess such talents?" Cappelen spoke coldly, "But the world only acknowledges the Mitra Kingdom, recognizes only the Mitra Kingdom’s descendants of the Hero as the true offspring of heroes, often subconsciously forgetting that our Ragnar Empire’s Royal Family also has the Blood of the Brave."

Is there really any help for it?

"Because our ancestors did not defeat the Demon King, and failed to even overcome the Demons, being slain by the Dragon Demon among the Six Great Demons, the world deems our Heroic ancestors unworthy of their name."

A hint of resentment unavoidably crept into Cappelen’s tone.

"People only remember the victors; they never acknowledge the defeated."

"So whenever the Descendants of the Brave are mentioned, the world only thinks of the Mitra Royal Family, not us of the Ragnar Empire Royal Family."

"We can only forever live under the shadow of the Hero Mitra; the Ragnar Royal Family can only live under the shadow of Mitra Royal Family, and even I can only live under the shadow of Luoqi and Lusti."

Cappelen’s voice gradually weakened as she spoke.

"The Ragna Empire has always sought to escape this shadow, hence sparing no expense to summon the bones of the ancestors, collecting precious materials from the Three Realms at great cost, spending five hundred years to finally forge a replica of the Holy Sword, whereas the Mitra Kingdom could casually obtain the real Holy Sword with the Divine Race’s effort, under the voluntary sacrifice of the Hero Mitra."

"We’ve constantly strived to strengthen ourselves and our Kingdom’s power, unwittingly becoming the strongest state in the Human Realm, possessing the largest army and the most formidable military might. However, our proudly boasted military prowess is deemed as mere quantity without quality, not comparable to the companions of the Hero, the Guard Knight Order, nor to the Flying Dragon Army of the Mitra Kingdom."

"In this generation, our Ragnar Royal Family finally birthed a prodigy with the potential to surpass our ancestors; her arrival agitated the Temple, drawing the attention of the highest Upper-level Gods, who personally bestowed their blessings, causing the Ragna Empire to celebrate, and decided the Royal Family to invest all resources to nurture her. Yet, almost at the same time, the Kingdom announced the birth of a prodigious talent whose magic power directly stirred the Divine World, alarming the Three Great Goddesses, leading the Goddess of Fate herself to descend and grant her blessing."

Her tone, which initially lacked strength, became increasingly filled with resentment as she continued.

"When the Empire’s most outstanding talent throughout history received the replica of the Holy Sword, the Kingdom’s treasure was then acknowledged by the real Holy Sword."

"When the Empire’s most brilliant talent displayed her powerful Unique Skill, the Kingdom’s treasure revealed a Unique Skill that moved the Divine Race."

"Her blessing came from an Upper-level God, while hers was personally bestowed by one of the Three Great Goddesses, no less significant than her ancestors."

"Her beauty considered first in the Empire, her beauty was then hailed as the top beauty of the Human Race."

"In the end, she became the loser in every aspect, and the other became the winner with superior skills."

"People forever remember only That Person, the first of the Human Race, but never did they pay attention to the one always in the shadow of the second place."

With those words, Cappelen’s eyes shone with increasing silver light, and her white wings and the replica Holy Sword in her hand emitted an ever-brightening white light, causing magic power to surge violently.

"So, I swore that in this life, I would defeat Luoqi and Lusti and completely free myself from her."

"I won’t let her become the shadow cast over my entire life, nor will I allow Mitra Kingdom to remain the shadow of the Ragna Empire."

"You are strong, truly strong, so strong that you’ve exceeded my expectations, and it’s no wonder Luoqi and Lusti hold you in high esteem."

"For a rival like you to appear among my peers, she must be very excited."

"But precisely because of this, I have to defeat you."

Cappelen raised her replica of the Holy Sword, pointing it at Shane.

"Not for anything else, but to not lose to that woman."

As her words fell, the magic power raging from Cappelen was suddenly sucked into her body like a whirlpool.

No, rather it was drawn into the white wings at her back.

"Whoosh!"

The next instant, Cappelen’s wings flapped sharply, and her entire being transformed into a beam of white light, shooting forward.

In an instant, she appeared before Shane.

"...!"

Shane only felt a blur before his eyes, and then Cappelen’s figure appeared in front of him, causing his heart to shudder. Without any hesitation, he activated the "Instant Movement" skill, disappearing from the spot.

"Boom!"

Transformed into a white light, Cappelen dashed past where Shane had stood, bringing forth a violent storm that shattered and cracked the ground.

After missing with her strike, Cappelen didn’t feel discouraged. Her figure, turned into white light, defied inertia and bent sharply, propelled in another direction by the flapping of her white wings.

There, Shane’s figure reappeared.

"Evolve!"

Seeing the white light approaching at an astonishing speed, Shane no longer dared to hold back and activated the "Extreme Transformation" power.

Thus, magic power flowed through Shane’s entire body, causing all of his abilities to surge dramatically.

But at that moment, Cappelen had already closed in on Shane, her replica Holy Sword flashing as she slashed out.

That slash was at least ten times faster than before!

"Bang!"

Shane couldn’t react in time and was severely struck on the chest by the ultra-fast replica Holy Sword, akin to a flash of light. He was sent flying backward with a heavy thud.

However, as he was sent flying, Shane activated the "Instant Movement" skill, his figure suddenly vanishing midair and reappearing behind Cappelen.

"Buzz!"

The atmosphere trembled, and red magic light extended along the Holy Sword.

Shane, looking at Cappelen with her back to him, had already unleashed a strike augmented with the "Magical Sword" skill. It descended like red thunder, landing on Cappelen’s back.

However...

"Clang!"

Amid the sound of the clash, Shane’s Holy Sword, enhanced with the "Magical Sword" skill, was parried.

It was as if the white wings on Cappelen’s back gained eyes of their own, with a single flap, one of the feathers deflected Shane’s slashing attack, stirring up a circle of wind with magical force.

"It was actually deflected?"

Shane’s eyes widened slightly.

Yet Cappelen was not going to miss this opportunity. She instantly turned around, her replica Holy Sword once again turning into a flash as it slashed violently.

This slash, just like a storm, tore through the atmosphere where it passed and shattered the ground in the vicinity.

That terrifying Aurora Sword was like a condensed natural disaster, already having destroyed the natural landscape of the area.

Shane’s figure appeared a short distance away as if by instant teleportation, his expression grave as he observed the scene.

"It seems that this so-called second place is not just an empty title."

The power Cappelen displayed with her unique skill was completely on a different level from before.

That pair of wings seemed to combine ultra-fast flying, automatic defense, and enhanced amplification abilities into one, making Cappelen incredibly powerful at this moment.

At least in Shane’s eyes, Cappelen now seemed even more fearsome than Tielle who had entered a Ghost State in Artlu Canyon.

Even Ai Yi, who was watching the battle, narrowed her eyes and murmured,

"This unique skill is quite strong, it’s not inferior to the Hero that I dealt with, is it?"

That was exactly the case.

Cappelen was unleashing her full strength, demonstrating the power that put pressure on Shane and even somewhat gained Ai Yi’s acknowledgement.

"How about it? Is this all your strength?"

Cappelen flew back into the air once more, looking at Shane and speaking indifferently.

"Don’t you have a unique skill that’s also quite formidable? Not planning to use it?"

Clearly, this Empire Princess felt as if Shane was not yet fighting with his full strength.

She thought that if Shane could be recognized by Luoqi and possess such power at this young age, it was impossible for him not to have a powerful unique skill.

Without it, he would not be worthy of their recognition at this level.

After all, a unique skill is an ability that can defy common sense in the world, ignoring level and skill restrictions, to directly showcase terrifying strength.

Without a powerful unique skill, no matter how high the level or how strong the abilities, they would ultimately be unable to contend with them.

In fact, it was true.

Shane did indeed have a unique skill, and it was a unique skill that could be described as game-breaking.

Unfortunately, Shane’s unique skill was not the type that could directly bring about combat power.

But, Shane had indeed not yet used his full strength.

No matter what, he still had the Holy Sword.

"Should I use it?"

Shane hesitated.