World’s End: My Keyword is One More Than Others

Holly?

How could it be him?

Grand Duke Lynch could never have imagined that the one causing such a commotion outside the ducal mansion would be Holly, that little pawn he could crush with one hand.

How could he possibly possess such a powerful martial soul?

With such a powerful martial soul, why had he remained obscure for so many years and turned himself into a scoundrel?

Was this aimed at him?

Countless questions flashed through Grand Duke Lynch's mind in an instant. He even thought of a conspiracy where the King of Lucerne had specifically arranged for Holly to target him.

After all, he held too much power and was the only duke of non-royal blood in the Lucerne Kingdom...

But all these doubts couldn't withstand scrutiny...

Grand Duke Lynch was a Grand Magus with considerable strength. He could sense the surging mental power from Holly's martial soul, which was not much weaker than his own. Naturally, he wouldn't think Holly's Sea God was an illusionary martial soul.

Was the martial soul behind him truly a ten-star martial soul?

Why?

Why?

Grand Duke Lynch's mind was filled with questions, so much so that he completely ignored Old Gao standing beside Du Ge.

...

"Grand Duke Lynch, long time no see." Du Ge looked at Grand Duke Lynch in the sky, smiling as he greeted him. His hands didn't stop, planting mental cages on the two warriors with nine-star martial souls.

Du Ge was always cautious, maintaining a righteous persona. He couldn't kill people indiscriminately, but he also wouldn't do something as foolish as letting enemies go.

Two nine-star martial souls—what if they launched a sneak attack during his fight with Grand Duke Lynch?

Indeed, in this world, Du Ge's mental power was high enough, but because he didn't have a suitable place to grind keywords, his attributes weren't high.

Relying solely on the physical enhancement from his martial soul was limited. Skipping the martial soul and directly attacking his body could potentially kill him.

Grand Duke Lynch was a Grand Magus. Who knew if he would go insane and use forbidden spells? It had already been proven that martial souls couldn't intercept spells. Mages and warriors were natural adversaries.

In short, caution was never wrong.

Sealing warriors was different from sealing mages. When mental cages were implanted in them, it was directly reflected in their martial souls. Each elemental lock driven into their acupoints would nail a wedge into their martial souls.

When several acupoints were locked with elemental locks, the martial soul would be like being chained, forcibly pressed back into the body...

...

After dealing with the two nine-star martial souls and a mage, Du Ge looked up at Grand Duke Lynch in the sky again, smiling as he asked, "Duke, can we talk?"

"Sure."

Grand Duke Lynch had seen the process of Du Ge using mental cages on the three.

Mental cages were cast at close range, so he couldn't see what elements Du Ge used. But whatever the elements were, it proved that Du Ge, while possessing a ten-star martial soul, also practiced magic.

His curiosity about Du Ge had reached its peak.

Before figuring out the conspiracy behind Holly, Grand Duke Lynch didn't want to fight a super warrior with a ten-star martial soul.

After Du Ge demonstrated his strength, the conspiracy against him had completely collapsed. So, negotiation was the best option.

Du Ge retracted his martial soul, and Grand Duke Lynch descended from the sky, standing in front of Du Ge. He scrutinized Du Ge with a critical eye, glanced at Old Gao, and said, "Let's go."

"After you, Duke." Du Ge smiled, maintaining his manners.

Seeing Holly, who was completely different from before, Grand Duke Lynch hesitated for a moment, then returned to the ducal mansion, dispersing the guards outside. In front of a ten-star martial soul, these guards were meaningless.

Entering the ducal mansion, Du Ge saw Xima Lynch, the magical girl who had framed Holly and sent him to prison. He nodded and smiled at her.

It had to be said.

Xima Lynch was indeed a top-tier beauty. No wonder Holly had lost his mind over her.

At this moment, Xima Lynch looked at Holly as if she had seen a ghost.

She also couldn't reconcile the polite man with a ten-star martial soul in front of her with the drunken fool who had barged into her room that day.

...

In the drawing room of the ducal mansion.

Everyone took their seats, and servants brought in refreshments.

Xima Lynch sat beside Grand Duke Lynch, occasionally glancing at Du Ge with a look of both disgust and confusion.

Grand Duke Lynch ignored Old Gao and looked at Du Ge, asking, "Who exactly are you?"

"Holly Arlaus." Du Ge bowed slightly in response.

"Holly, you're a smart man." The Duke frowned, picking up his teacup, taking a sip, and then putting it down. "You know that's not what I'm asking. I want to know who is behind you, or rather, who you represent."

"Duke, I represent no one." Du Ge smiled.

"Is it His Majesty of Lucerne or the Pope?" The Duke's eyes were sharp and aggressive. "Your intrusion into Xima's room was also a deliberate arrangement, wasn't it? Starting with my reputation? Sacrificing the honor of someone who awakened a ten-star martial soul to cooperate with their plan? Have they finally lost patience and decided to act against me?"

Old Fellow, what kind of wild imagination do you have!

Du Ge shook his head calmly. "Duke, you're overthinking..."

"Holly, we can cooperate." Grand Duke Lynch interrupted Du Ge. "Tell me, who is behind you? What benefits did they offer you? I can offer you more. A ten-star martial soul should have its own pride and dignity, should dominate the fate of this world, not be used as a pawn."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"..." Old Gao glanced at Grand Duke Lynch, suddenly finding it amusing. Power drives people mad. Such a person’s mind is full of schemes and plots, completely unable to understand Holly's noble character.

Du Ge looked at Grand Duke Lynch, who had concocted a series of conspiracies in his mind, and chuckled. "Duke, there's really no one behind me. If you must find a mastermind, I suppose it would be justice and righteousness!"

"..." Grand Duke Lynch.

"..." Xima Lynch widened her eyes.

"Holly, that wasn't funny," Grand Duke Lynch said.

"Duke, my ten-star martial soul awakened last night. Stephen and everyone in the prison can testify." Du Ge smiled. "Before that, I was just a failure who had only partially awakened his martial soul. The me at the banquet that day was the real me, without any disguise."

Grand Duke Lynch turned to Old Gao.

"He's telling the truth," Old Gao said coldly, his eyes filled with undisguised disdain for Grand Duke Lynch. "Last night, Holly was even prepared to die. It was a small twist of fate that changed his mind, and then Holly awakened his ten-star martial soul. The entire prison witnessed the awakening process."

"Impossible." Grand Duke Lynch frowned even more. "Maybe someone can awaken a martial soul twice, but even a ten-star martial soul couldn't have such strong combat power right after awakening."

"Duke, the world is vast and full of wonders." Du Ge smiled. "Whether you want to admit it or not, this is the truth. Duke, I came to you today not to argue about martial souls but to clear my name."

"Fine." Grand Duke Lynch glanced at Du Ge and agreed without hesitation. He knew that even if he didn't clear Holly's name, he couldn't send a ten-star martial soul warrior, who was not weaker than him, to the guillotine.

"So, the Duke is willing to publicly admit to framing me?" Du Ge looked delighted.

"Framing?" Grand Duke Lynch was stunned.

"Yes, framing." Du Ge nodded affirmatively, looking at Xima Lynch. "I caught Xima Lynch in an affair. The Duke was worried I would speak out and affect Xima's marriage to Prince Nelson, so he pinned the blame on me, a scoundrel..."

"You're lying." Before Grand Duke Lynch could speak, Xima Lynch had already shouted angrily, her face flushed. "Holly, you scoundrel, you barged into my room that night at the banquet..."

"Xima, did I assault you?" Du Ge asked.

"How could I be touched by a drunkard?" Xima Lynch said with disgust.

"Xima, would you like to hear my story?" Du Ge shook his head and, without waiting for them to respond, began his tale. "It all started with my failed martial soul awakening, which was a foresight-type martial soul..."