The Sword Emperor Transmigrates-Chapter 291

Though the space did not exist in the material world, Leonard had no doubt about the meaning of the throne. He knew it wasn’t just a simple object—it was a medium, a device used to communicate directly with the laws of the world. It appeared as a chair simply because of the concept of sitting. Had it been “lying down,” a bed would have appeared instead.

This moment marked the final stage in determining whether one could ascend to the Divine Throne, regardless of whether they had broken through the Deification Tier.

Sitting on the chair did not automatically mean a breakthrough had been completed, but even so, attempting to ascend the Deification Tier while leaving the Divine Throne unoccupied would make it impossible to avoid complete annihilation. It was only possible to buy a few years of meaningless delay at most.

“I didn’t think of running away, but it seems there’s no choice,” Leonard muttered.

With a swift turn of his body, he sat down without hesitation. At that moment, something changed. The Divine Throne had never truly belonged to anyone in the past, but now it welcomed its one and only master for the first time.

The laws of the world immediately resonated. The resonation was so vast and intense that even a being above the Demigod Tier could feel it. Even conceptual martial arts and supreme magic, which could indirectly influence the laws, seemed insignificant to this monumental shift. Among the gods of the ancient era, the one most known for his vast influence was Odin, the king of the Aesir Gods, who were known to have been on par with the Olympians.

According to legend, Odin’s throne allowed him to see all the worlds, thanks to a divine artifact called Hlidskjalf.

―There exists a grand hall called Valaskjalf, and it belongs to Odin himself. The dwarves built this magnificent hall, raising its roof with pure silver. Within that hall lies a lofty throne known as Hlidskjalf. When the All-Father sits upon it, he can gaze upon all nine realms at once.

According to the old records, Hlidskjalf was perhaps the closest parallel to the Divine Throne. However, Hlidskjalf was limited to mere observation, whereas the Divine Throne stood on an entirely higher plane of existence.

...This isn’t something that can be tampered with even if I’m in the Deification Tier!

The flood of information bombarded Leonard’s mind, and he felt the veins in his eyes rupture. Had his body still been in its pre-breakthrough form, his upper dantian could have exploded from the pressure.

The power of the Divine Throne was no small feat. Reaching the realm of the gods seemed to be the bare minimum requirement. Reaching this level meant gaining the ability to manipulate the laws of this world directly, to intervene in the very essence of all things.

Even the ancient King of Gods had never dared to monopolize such power; they chose to share it. Under normal circumstances, one would have to completely achieve Chief God divinity before even attempting to challenge the Divine Throne, but the urgency of Leonard’s situation had forced an exception.

If it’s right now, I might even be able to reshape the flow of the ley lines that exist in the world and flip the balance of the world’s energy... Still, such an act, if done poorly, could lead to total devastation. It’s impossible for me to gain proficiency over such a short time.

It was as though Leonard had become like the Buddha, who sat under the Bodhi tree, attaining vast enlightenment. The immense knowledge flooding him accelerated the completion of his divinity.

All the scriptures and doctrines I never fully understood are unraveling before me. If I continue accepting this overwhelming wisdom, I may transcend the limits of the Deification Tier and reach a higher plane.

For any martial artist, this temptation far surpassed the seductive whispers of liberation and enlightenment. To think he could simply sit here and he would naturally ascend into a higher level and step into greater realms without struggle.

Even the renowned monks of Shaolin Temple or the Taoist sages of Wudang Sect, famous for their spiritual discipline, would find it nearly impossible to tear themselves away from this seat.

If a person understands the principles of benevolence and righteousness, they should spend their whole life practicing them, and sometimes even sacrifice their life to defend them.

Hadn’t it been said, “If in the morning one hears the Way, it is acceptable to die in the evening”? The ecstasy of enlightenment was immense.

The unique nature of Leonard’s path, his martial artist soul, allowed him to adapt to this overwhelming enlightenment faster and more efficiently than others. In a week, he might even reach the level of a Chief God, or even surpass it.

———!? —————! ——?!

The sound of desperate screams and cries of battle snapped him back to reality.

Sitting on the Divine Throne meant gaining full awareness, from the highest heavens to the deepest abyss. Leonard could now sense everything, even the ongoing battle between the allied forces and the outer-dimensional army in the Asphodel Meadows. The forces of the Cardenas family, namely the Seven Great Orders, the Arcane Society, the magic corps of the Mage Tower, and the army of conscripts from across the continent, were all in motion.

As the outer-dimensional army and Balor, who was trying to interrupt Leonard’s rebirth, clashed with the allied forces, Leonard knew that every minute, dozens, hundreds, even thousands of lives were being lost.

Could he turn his back on his comrades’ deaths just to grow stronger? The uncomfortable question haunted him like a shadow. If it were the Leonard of his previous life, the one known as Yeon Mu-Hyuk, he would not have hesitated a moment, leaving them to their fate.

But Leonard spoke softly to himself, his eyes opening slowly, “I understood their wisdom. Two ancestors who tried to protect their descendants, a senior who tried to keep his juniors alive, and a magical lifeform that understood humans more deeply than anyone.”

A radiant light surged from his body, creating a shimmering aura around him, signifying his transcendental existence.

“I learned that it’s not about pursuing one’s own future alone. How could I embrace such wisdom and then turn away from those who would sacrifice their lives for me?” he continued, his voice filled with conviction. “It’s the height of absurdity to abandon those who fight to protect me.”

With that, a sword materialized in Leonard’s hand—the jet-black sword forged from the cast-iron fists of Pollux. Cracks appeared along the blade’s surface, and then, with a violent shudder, it shattered into fragments. Then, the fragments reformed into a translucent, radiant blade, shining with a divine light. A sword that had previously contained only a fragment of divinity was now reborn as a perfect divine sword, resonating completely with its master.

Leonard swung it down, commanding the Divine Throne. If the Divine Throne was the one who called him here, then it should be the one capable of sending him out too.

“If you brought me here, then it’s you who must release me!” he declared, his voice unwavering.

The laws of the world responded to their owner’s—his—command. Though he did not yet have complete control, even the Divine Throne sensed that the situation outside was taking a turn for the worse.

Fwoooosh—!

Where Leonard’s sword had slashed, a rift began to form, gradually widening until it became a clear passage back to the real world.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he stepped through the rift. And yet, even as he moved forward, Leonard could sense it instinctively—once he left, he would become an existence far beyond what he had ever been.

* * *

Boom!

The ground trembled as the dark sphere, Crom Dubh, pulsed once again, signaling the imminent end of its rebirth. The air thickened with an overwhelming presence, the atmosphere chilling the very bones of all who stood near. A catastrophe unlike any ever seen was about to be born—a Great Evil God unprecedented even among the Evil Gods.

“Damn it! Is Leonard still not done!?”

Demian, barely escaping Balor’s attack, tore off his charred armor. If he had gone in deeper to attack Balor, Balor’s attack would have melted his bones and left him unable to fight. In that crucial moment, life and death were separated by a fraction of a second. Even the battle-hardened commanders couldn’t escape the battlefield’s deadly atmosphere.

The death count had been overwhelmingly high for each exchange with the outer-dimensional army, but now it was gradually decreasing, barely maintaining a double-digit figure. Still, if the members of the allied forces continued to die, their numbers would dwindle, and they would inevitably face annihilation.

Groarrrr—!!!

The Bone Dragon let out a fierce roar and unleashed its breath, but it no longer held the same power as before. It had not only been summoned in an incomplete state but had also been attacked multiple times by Balor. Its joints, charred black, creaked with every movement.

Despite this, the Bone Dragon, a mythical Undead, cleared away thousands of the otherworldly forces with a single breath. But even that gain was quickly overshadowed as monsters that crossed the dimensional rift filled the void, and the casualties of the allied forces continued to rise without pause.

—Thud.

The rhythmic pulse of Crom Dubh’s heartbeat itself was mentally draining, and the battle situation was worsening. If this were a fight with any possibility of surrender, the conscripts would have already fled or given up.

Before long, the allied forces found themselves surrounded on all sides by the outer-dimensional forces. They were focusing all their efforts on just holding their defensive lines.

The number of monsters from the dimensional rift had already surpassed measurable limits, and reinforcements poured in at a speed many times faster than the allied forces could defeat them.

What sealed their fate were the final pulses of Crom Dubh.

Thud—! Thud—! Thud—!

The dark sphere thumped three times, and the ground shook as the protective shell of darkness around Crom Dubh cracked open with an ominous sound.

From a Great Evil to a Great Evil God. As soon as Crom Dubh completely restored its divinity, it reached the level of a Great God, and not long after, it showed the potential to reach the level of a Chief God. Breathing in an unimaginable amount of blood and despair, it was born.

“Ah, we’re screwed...”

Cruella sighed deeply as her staff drooped. Regardless of her abilities as a mage, she was a mortal, and she couldn’t deny the instinctive sense of doom that came with the arrival of a Great Evil God.

The moment Crom Dubh was born, the end was sealed. It was nothing like the unstable, tentacle-laden form it had taken before, which had been overwhelmed by the raw power of an incomplete divinity. Now, it appeared as a being with the facial features of a human, with blood-red hair flowing from its head. It had human-like arms and stood upright on two legs, its form about five meters tall. Its skeleton protruded through its skin, and horns grew from its body. If not for these features, it could have been mistaken for a human.

“Crom, Dubh...!”

Someone screamed the name in terror, and Crom Dubh, never missing a sound, turned its gaze toward them.

—No.

The being spoke, voice deep and resonating.

—I was born from Crom Dubh, the Twisted Darkness, but I am the next existence, one with bloody hair, Cenn Cruach.

Thus, Crom Dubh, now fully reborn as Cenn Cruach, gazed down upon the world with solemnity.

Born from the God-Slaying War, Crom Dubh was the worst device of destruction in history and the embodiment of despair.

The allied forces, who had refused to give up until the very end, now faced this merciless being that denied all hope for humanity.

“...Huh?”

When twilight falls, shadows grow deep, but even the dawn has its darkest moment—just before the sun rises, when the night is at its most profound.

Cenn Cruach[1] twisted his previously composed expression into one of grotesque realization as he fixed his gaze upon a mass of light. The very possibility the Outer Gods had feared came true before their eyes.

A god was born.

Shiiiiiiiing———!!

The light that had gathered scattered in all directions, and from within it, Leonard slowly emerged, completing the rebirth of both his soul and body.

With a divine sword burning with radiant, multicolored flames, golden light softly flickered around him. Though he resembled Ancestor Cardenas, the light within him was different, and so was his path.

Unlike Ancestor Cardenas, who was satisfied with being the Empire’s Sword and had chosen to slay Ragna’s enemies with her sword, Leonard had chosen to sit upon the Divine Throne without hesitation.

“I made you wait, didn’t I?”

The God of Salvation and the God of Annihilation, two transcendental beings, descended into the Underworld and stood face to face.

1. Cenn Cruach is a figure in Irish mythology and is oftentimes referred to with a male pronoun. ☜