CHAPTER 260: THE TRUTH

A healthy Sigma Roadhammer surrounded by dwarves.

And another Sigma Roadhammer groaning in pain beside Ethan.

Two Great Hammers of Tartaros.

The dwarves couldn’t properly understand the current situation. Why was there another Sigma next to Ethan who came out of the rift?

“How can there be two Great Hammers…”

Ethan smiled at the surprised dwarves.

At the end of that smile was the healthy Sigma Roadhammer, the 5th Apostle.

“This rift, you know. It’s really well-made. Everyone thinks it’s a hole where monsters pour out from, so who would think to go inside? Since no one goes in, it’s perfect for hiding things.”

Ethan said, looking at the healthy Sigma. Next to him were the dwarves who always assisted the king, who were looking at Ethan with shocked faces.

On the other hand, Sigma Roadhammer was not surprised. Rather, he was calm.

But in his eyes flowed an endless malice.

The 5th Apostle looked at Ethan once and then lifted his chin while looking at the groaning Sigma beside him. It was clearly a look of looking down.

The water had been spilled.

Who would have thought he’d actually find the real Sigma Roadhammer?

The 5th Apostle clapped.

“How did you know?”

“From the beginning.”

Ethan answered briefly.

“I should have just killed you. Making things this troublesome. But well, it can’t be helped. Where in the world are there easy things?”

“Your, Great Hammer?”

“What on earth is this situation…”

Ethan shouted towards the dwarves.

“What you’re assisting now is a fake! The real Sigma is here beside me!”

“…!”

“F-Fake?”

“The real Sigma is…?”

The dwarves were bewildered. This Sigma is a fake?

The dwarves had been with this Sigma Roadhammer, who looked fine, since Tartaros.

They continued to be together even after crossing over to Watopia through the rift of Tartaros.

The Great Hammer is the king of Tartaros.

The Great Hammer needed perfect protection, and the guard dwarves were faithful to that role.

Throughout this series of events, they had never taken their eyes off Sigma. If there had been a switch, they would have surely noticed, but no matter how much they thought about it, there was no such process. ᚱАƝŎ฿Ê𝘴

So they couldn’t rashly believe Ethan’s words.

At that moment, the real Sigma who had been groaning straightened his posture with Ethan’s support.

“I… I have been defeated! Damn it…! I am not worthy to be called the Great Hammer! It’s humiliating. So humiliating. You set me aside and pretend to be me? You damn…!”

The real Sigma spat out words as if wailing.

“Irit, Bevirac! Bring me my hammer! I’ll smash that fake’s head again!”

“…!”

“…!”

The two dwarves whose names were called showed surprised expressions.

Although they hadn’t taken their eyes off, they had clearly detected a sense of discomfort.

Sigma’s original way of speaking was that rough and straightforward.

He was the most un-Great Hammer-like among all the Great Hammers in history, and at the same time, the most dwarf-like.

“Come to think of it… he didn’t have a single beer since coming to Watopia.”

“He used to drink beer every day.”

“We didn’t hear any curses either.”

“We used to hear curses every day.”

These were things they hadn’t noticed because the situation was so urgent.

But once they realized they had been serving a fake Sigma, that sense of discomfort hit them hard.

The dwarves began to step back from the fake Sigma.

“No way…”

“A fake Sigma?”

“Do not doubt. Didn’t you come to Watopia with me?”

“…”

Despite those words, the dwarves gripped the hammers at their waists.

As the dwarves greatly widened the distance, Ethan took a step forward.

The 5th Apostle let out a short sigh.

“This has become troublesome.”

Then he turned his gaze back to Ethan who was approaching.

“It’s too coincidental. You surely had no reason to come here. Moreover, no one should have known about this incident. I perfectly carried out what someone else was supposed to do.”

The 5th Apostle rubbed his chin as if perplexed.

“That’s because I knew.”

Ethan smiled at the 5th Apostle, raising the corners of his mouth.

“That you’re an Apostle.”

He spoke the truth in an infinitely lowered voice. Then the 5th Apostle, who had been maintaining a calm attitude until now, started laughing.

It was that laugh he had shown earlier in Watopia’s secret warehouse.

“Let’s give up everything. According to my original plan, both Tartaros and Watopia should have been destroyed by now. I moved carefully because the upper Apostles told me to be moderate. But now it’s become troublesome because of some insignificant flies.”

The 5th Apostle let out another short sigh.

At the same time, a group of people approached from far away.

It was the Pope and the King of Watopia who had been blocking Watopia’s rift. And behind them, numerous merman knights were following.

“What on earth is this commotion!”

The King of Watopia, who had approached, came forward with a loud voice. He thought a rift had appeared, but instead, something else was happening.

Two Sigmas.

One Sigma was injured, while the other, who looked fine, was being guarded by dwarf warriors.

“What… is going on here? Why are there two Great Hammers?”

The King of Watopia couldn’t understand this situation.

But the Pope beside him instantly grasped the situation.

Two Sigma Roadhammers.

And Ethan Whiskers next to the injured Sigma.

For a moment, Ethan’s eyes met with the Pope’s. The Pope gave Ethan a thumbs up as if he understood everything.

Ethan couldn’t help but smile.

‘It must have been worth doing the life conversion.’

He probably thinks it was a job well done.

The Pope quickly gestured to the King of Watopia. As the king approached, the Pope quickly explained the whole story of this incident.

That he had to hide this fact even from the king because the opponent was hiding with perfect mimicry. And when he explained that the one who did the perfect mimicry was the culprit who caused this rift, the king showed a surprised expression.

“Good heavens… So the Great Hammer wasn’t real? Someone mimicked the Great Hammer to create a rift in Watopia… and even tried to destroy Tartaros all at once?”

It was perfect deception. Who would have thought that such a wicked act would blind his eyes and oppress the people of Watopia?

“This damn…! How dare, how dare in this Watopia!”

As the king became enraged, the Pia Knights, Watopia’s strongest knightly order lined up behind him, stepped forward.

Special armor that fits tightly to the body and long tridents.

The one in front, who seemed to be the captain of the knightly order, was holding a magnificent trident.

“Please give us your order, Your Majesty.”

The captain of the knightly order, who had been listening to the conversation beside them, was also in a state of anger.

“I will handle it surely as you order.”

Moreover, the dwarf warriors who had been guarding the fake Sigma also began to clearly hostile towards the 5th Apostle.

Checkmate.

In a situation where he was essentially cornered, the 5th Apostle, who was still mimicking Sigma’s appearance, slowly bent his waist.

When he straightened up again, he had completely transformed.

The 5th Apostle slowly brushed his long hair upwards and let out a long sigh.

“This is why I said it’s easier to just kill everyone.”

Sharp features. And explosively flowing violent mana.

That mana, unlike ordinary mana, stickily invaded the surroundings.

Shaaaak-

On top of that, a chill flowed.

“This is the problem with those damn upper Apostles. They’re too consumed by old memories. Yeah, sure, there were probably strong guys in the old days. It’s understandable that the upper Apostles have trauma since they were badly beaten when they were most active. But that was then.”

The 5th Apostle clenched his fist.

“I wasn’t there.”

Watching the 5th Apostle mumbling to himself, the King of Watopia raised his hand. Immediately, the Pia Knights took a stance to charge.

The Pia Knights are Watopia’s strongest force.

In addition, the dwarf warriors who had been guarding Sigma also pointed their hammers at the 5th Apostle.

A part of Watopia’s strongest force and Tartaros’ strongest force.

The King of Watopia raised his hand upwards.

“Capture him alive! I will hear directly from that mouth what his identity is!”

As the king’s order fell, the captain of the Pia Knights raised his sword.

Bang-!

But there were those who moved even faster.

It was the dwarf warriors who had been deceived by the fake Sigma, the 5th Apostle.

Despite their bulky bodies, their speed was incredibly fast. With explosive power coming from their thick legs, they strongly stepped on the ground and charged forward.

The 5th Apostle saw the incoming dwarf warriors and took a stance.

‘Let’s see.’

Ethan deliberately didn’t step forward first. Ethan had already found not only the real Sigma but also the mastermind behind this incident.

‘There’s no need to step forward first. But.’

Although Ethan didn’t know the 5th Apostle’s real face, he knew well about his strength.

He had only seen him fight once, so he didn’t know his level for sure, but.

‘The number of Apostles doesn’t reflect anything else. It’s purely determined by strength.’

The lower the number, the stronger they are.

The difference in level between the Apostles Ethan had faced before and the 5th Apostle was as big as the difference in their numbers.

Especially from the 1st Apostle to the 5th Apostle, there was a considerable power gap at each level.

‘It’s not for nothing that the top 3 Apostles are separated.’

When Ethan was challenging the Apostles, he heard such stories.

That the 3rd Apostle alone could defeat all the Apostles below them.

They even said that such level differences would continue to widen probably up to the 5th Apostle.

‘Not all Apostles are the same just because they’re Apostles, they said.’

Five hammers flying in simultaneously.

The 5th Apostle took a stance and swung his fist towards those hammers.

Bam-!

With a huge sound, the hammers of the five dwarf warriors shattered simultaneously. Not only the hammers. The warriors fell forward with a death cry.

“Kuhek…”

“…!”

“Damn it!”

Seeing the dwarf warriors collapse, Sigma Roadhammer clicked his tongue.

At the sight of the dwarf warriors being neutralized in an instant, the King of Watopia’s eyebrows twitched.

But the Pia Knights charged regardless.

The 5th Apostle, who had lightly stretched, stepped forward and suddenly his figure disappeared.

Crash-!

And again, a thunderous sound arose. It was the sound of the fully armored Pia Knight’s armor shattering.

This series of events was at a speed that the Pia Knights couldn’t handle.

None of the knights, including the captain, could keep up with the 5th Apostle’s speed.

Only two people could.

Only two could follow the 5th Apostle’s speed with their eyes.

One of them, the Pope, spoke to the King of Watopia again.

“All troops retreat!”

The king’s order fell, but the 5th Apostle moved faster. With light footsteps touching the ground, his figure disappeared again.

Overwhelming physical ability.

And his bare-handed combat skills were at a level that none of the Pia Knights could block.

Bam-!

“Kuaaaaaak-!”

“T-This…”

“The Pia Knights…”

“What on earth is happening…?”

The watching merfolk began to turn pale. The Pia Knights are made up of only the strongest merfolk in Watopia.

Such Pia Knights were being helplessly defeated.

Moreover, the attacks that hit them weren’t even visible. Every time there was a sound of something breaking, one knight would fall.

The atmosphere became strange. Fear began to spread stealthily, and despair climbed up beside it.

There is only one enemy.

Nevertheless, they continued to be pushed back, unable to stop that one person.

Baam-!

Falling Pia Knights. At the end was the King of Watopia.

“H-He’s going for His Majesty!”

“Stop him! At all costs!”

But it was too late. The Pia Knights who were falling, unable to handle the 5th Apostle’s speed from the beginning.

There was no way they could stop the 5th Apostle rushing towards the King of Watopia.

“!”

The 5th Apostle, who reached the king’s close proximity in an instant, smiled.

“Let’s start by taking the head first.”

At that moment, the Pope next to the king moved.

Just as Pope Frederick was about to swing his staff towards the approaching 5th Apostle.

Kkaang-!

A sword that sprang out before the Pope’s staff blocked the 5th Apostle’s fist.

“This is a first. An enemy blocking my fist with just a sword.”

It was Ethan’s sword that blocked the 5th Apostle’s fist.

To the 5th Apostle’s words, Ethan smiled and said,

“You’re going to experience a lot of firsts from now on.”

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