Chapter 196: Royal Capital (1)
Chapter 196: Royal Capital (1)
Terms used in this chapter:
Spartoi – In Greek mythology, they are mythical beings who sprang up from a dragon’s teeth.
Koros’ chest split. The long diagonal slash broke his collarbone as black blood gushed out.
His muscles were as hard as armor, but this was the sword of Seryu, the Seven-Killings Sword.
Her silver sword that resembled the subtle moonlight was sharp enough to cut Koros’ body.
But when his black blood spurted, Seryu also coughed blood. She was pushed back and staggered.
“Kaaahk.”
It was not an illusion that Seryu’s sword cut Koros’ body.
It was definitely real.
But it was also true that Koros’ fist hit Seryu.
“Kuuhhk.”
As soon as the silver sword slashed his chest, Koros moved forward instead of stepping back.
Seryu’s sword cut through his clavicle and he stretched out his fist at that time.
He didn’t do it with thought. Koros’ instinct, which could be called a reckless move in itself, reacted to it.
And its effect was enough.
He struck his opponent in the same way with his powerful strength, but the power of their attacks differed. After all, their physique, weight, and race differed.
Koros was a giant over 3 meters, so his fist was almost as big as Seryu’s upper body.
Despite the fact that she reduced the strength of the attack by moving her body backwards at the moment of the attack, the blow she received was enormous.
“Kaakh…kuuhk…”
Seryu threw up again and stumbled while Koros gritted his teeth and glared at her.
It seemed like he could crush the small and slender Seryu if he hit her with more blows, but he couldn’t do it anymore.
It was also impossible for him to pull out here and head for Saluzia.
Because of the distance.
Seryu staggered and threw up blood, and she looked to be in danger of collapsing at any moment, but she was still able to wield her sword.
Koros himself was within Seryu’s striking distance.
‘As expected of a great swordmaster.’
One of the Ten Great Swordmasters that the S?len Kingdom was proud of.
Koros himself had been weakened by his chest injury. It was clear to him that if he charged here, his speed and power in dealing blows would be less than before.
He had suffered that much.
His barrage of attacks that blocked Seryu’s attacks was no longer possible.
‘I don’t have to hurry.’
Seryu was desperately adjusting her breathing, but her recovery was slow. After all, she was a human. Her vomiting blood could only mean that her gut was damaged, so it was natural that she wouldn’t be able to easily recover.
On the other hand, the injury on Koros’ chest was healing, albeit slow.
Because he was demonic human who united with a demon.
Koros had a strong regenerative ability that could not even be compared to a human’s natural healing ability.
So he just needed to take his time.
Until he had fully recovered.
Until Koros himself recovered, he just had to idle away and endure Seryu’s attack for the time being.
But Koros didn’t do that.
No, he couldn’t do that.’
‘Sannie.’
Saluzia.
The northwest sky was turning green.
The terrifying mana of death had been released.
He had to hurry. He shouldn’t drag this fight any longer.
“Come.”
Koros spoke in declaration, but Seryu said nothing. Because she was only focused on fighting Koros from the very beginning of their fight.
“Haa.”
Seryu let out her breath. She adjusted her breathing and controlled her body with her strong will. Lowering her body a bit, she strengthened the grip on her sword.
And at some point.
Bang!
Koros kicked the ground. Confronting such a charging giant seemed to be reckless.
But Seryu did not back down. She saw Koros pull his fist, so she held her breath and kicked the ground at the same time.
A fist and a sword.
A demonic human and a great swordmaster clashed.
***
Saluzia knew the five heroes of the Paragon Kingdom.
They were truly like mythical beings.
‘The ones who defeated the Demon Prince.’
Even among the demons that possessed a title, the great demons were one of the best and ranked just below the overlords of hell.
The gap between a demon prince and a human was truly enormous.
It was no exaggeration to say that humans were just squirming bugs when compared to them.
But Paragon’s heroes defeated the Demon Prince with their human bodies.
They were not disheartened.
They fought in the realm of the Demon Prince.
They fought not only the Demon Prince but also the Demon Prince’s army, and they eventually defeated the Demon Prince.
Iron Man Landius.
Ghostblade Kamael.
Holy Angel Lena.
These three defeated the Demon Prince.
It was the result of miracle after miracle, but they defeated the Demon Prince who had used up all his power in just fighting the three.
And the other two.
Necromancer Velkian and Druid Fran.
They stopped the Demon Prince’s army.
They made time for the three people to defeat the Demon Prince.
How did they do it?
How did they make it possible?
Saluzia got to know. She came to witness firsthand the correct answers to some of the questions she had.
“Come forth, my legion.”
Green mana covered the sky.
When Velkian on his Phantom Steed stretched out his hand towards the ground, ghostly wails reverberated and spread out.
“Kiaaaaaa-!”
Ghosts were summoned from the green sky. They cried and began to take shape, instantly covering the walls of the city.
And then it rained fire.
Meteors covered in green flames showered down from the green sky, attacking Saluzia’s troops.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
It wasn’t just an attack. The green meteors that struck the ground stood up and took the shape of giants.
Over ten giant golems stood up and roared.
And one more was added to this.
It clearly revealed Velkian’s personality, who did not hesitate to use his full strength.
“Come forth.”
Velkian made a gesture. He recited the spell which twisted the world around it.
His strongest familiar descended on the ground.
Kuoooooooo-!
The space was torn.
Green flames greatly rose from the ground, and ‘that’ showed up during that time.
Death Knight.
No, something more than that.
The greatest masterpiece created by Necromancer Velkian.
As soon as it appeared, it shook the world.
The heavens and earth trembled.
The green flames scattered roughly, making the black existence stand out even more.
Knight Lord.
The ruler of knights.
Green eyes flashed from within its black armor. It stared at Saluzia as it rode on top of a huge Phantom Steed. And powerful beings appeared beside such a lord.
Spartoi.
Elite knights made from the teeth of the black dragon Tarasque.
Saluzia breathed heavily as an army was summoned right before her eyes.
She reflexively recalled Velkian’s other name.
One Man Army.
A person who always moved alone, but could summon thousands of troops anytime and anywhere.
“Go.”
Velkian firmly ordered.
And the sky collapsed at that moment.
It could only be described as such as the sight of thousands of ghosts rushed down the capital’s walls.
The wail of ghosts filled the sky. The green golems swept the ground.
“Kiaaaaaaaaaa-!”
The ghostly wails erased all sound.
Thus, the harrowing screams of the demon followers were not heard. In the silence created by the overwhelming noise, the demon followers could not even leave their last death throes.
And at that moment, the Knight Lord dashed forward.
Death knights made up of Spartoi followed such a lord.
There was no sound again this time.
But their presence alone was enough to shake the world.
“Aaaaah!”
Saluzia frantically shouted. She roared and spread out all her four wings, and the Knight Lord’s green eyes flashed underneath its black armor. It swung its huge black sword.
Bang! Boom! Bang!
Thunder burst.
The Knight Lord’s sword and Saluzia’s wings collided several times, and the demonic humans and Spartoi clashed.
And Saluzia thought.
She had to run away.
She had to get out of here.
Necromancer Velkian was truly the worst opponent.
In a sense, he was worse than Landius or Kamael.
‘Konny!’
It was too much for her alone.
She could somehow deal with the Knight Lord, but if something else was added to this, Saluzia wouldn’t be able to hold her ground no matter how powerful she was.
She had to run away while the mid-ranking demonic humans under her command were blocking the Spartoi.
“Aaaaaah!”
Saluzia deliberately made her power runaway. She freed the demonic powers that she had held back ever since she became a demonic human.
Thus, she became one step closer to being a demon.
Naturally, she had to pay a price.
The pain of tearing up her soul was not a big deal for her.
‘Saluzia.’
The devil’s voice.
It was an illusion.
The devil had long been united with Saluzia herself.
But Saluzia knew.
The closer she turn into a demon, the closer she would lose her own self.
She had already lost some of it when she became a demonic human, so she knew that she would lose more if she continued.
But now wasn’t the time to hesitate. She needed a stronger power in order to get out of her current situation.
“Aaaaaaah!”
New wings sprouted behind Saluzia’s back.
The two pairs of wings became four pairs now, and Saluzia attacked the Knight Lord by wielding her newly sprouted wings. Right after her opponent withdrew, she flapped her wings again to shake off the magic of death that had attacked her.
“Keuaaa!”
Velkian clenched his teeth at the backlash of his mana. The Knight Lord rushed towards Saluzia again, but it was already after Saluzia had flapped her wings again.
“Kill the humans!”
Saluzia commanded.
And at that command, the demon followers lost their minds. Instead of fighting the ghosts in fear, they madly attacked the remaining Royal Guards and Royal Guard Magic Corps.
“You b*tch!”
Velkian angrily shouted.
But Saluzia smiled. Because she knew well what kind of people the five heroes of the Paragon Kingdom were.
“Hahahahaha!”
Saluzia’s flapping wings became huge blades of magic and struck the survivors. The Knight Lord protected them by swinging his black sword, and Saluzia escaped at that gap. She soared high into the skies of the royal capital.
Velkian saw her, but he couldn’t immediately chase after her.
Because he had to control the ghosts.
“Destroy the demon followers!”
Velkian suppressed his anger and shouted, and the ghosts protected the survivors by attacking the demon followers abandoned by Saluzia.
Velkian closed his eyes and felt the flow of magic.
A huge clash of power was taking place in the royal palace.
He could also feel the power of a strong demonic human in the south gate.
And all over the royal capital.
People were scared. The zombies that were neither dead nor alive were running wild and spreading death.
He had to hurry.
This wasn’t the time to chase after a demonic human who had run away.
Velkian slowly picked his breath. His drew closer his consciousness that had been focused on a far place.
The survivors.
There weren’t that many.
But he couldn’t abandon them.
“.”
He spoke and let out his power. As he released the Life magic, rain with the power of recovery poured down from the sky.
But it wasn’t absolute.
It only brought a peaceful death to those who were already on the verge of death, and a faster recovery for those who would survive.
It was just a little help. It was not a miracle.
So Velkian decided.
“Kuoo-”
His Phantom Steed cried low and headed to the ground.
Two people were lying down near where Saluzia stood.
They were very strong for their age.
The woman’s condition gradually improved because of the , but the man showed no response.
Because he was on the verge of death.
Velkian thought.
It was possible to save the man.
But he had to spend a considerable amount of time in order to help the man survive.
‘I don’t have time for that.’
The time he could spare the man was only ten seconds or so.
He couldn’t save the man if it exceeded that time, and he couldn’t help it.
Because once his ghost legion killed the nearby demon followers, they had to move to the center of the royal capital and save as many people as possible.
‘So I’ll leave it to yourself.’
Velkian opened the pocket on his waist and took out a pill the size of his finger.
He infused a bit of his mana into the silver pill reminiscent of the subtle moonlight, and opened the mouth of the man – Ga?l.
‘The Essence of the Silver Moon.’
It was an item he received from Druid Fran.
‘If you endure it, you’ll survive.’
It would not just help him regain his past strength, but would also let him be reborn as a more powerful being.
But it wasn’t easy.
According to Fran, the chances were one in a hundred.
The man in front of Velkian seemed like someone who had considerable training, so he thought that the man’s chances to survive were higher.
‘I wouldn’t normally use it but…’
The probability of survival was so low that it was a drug he never thought of using. What he received from Fran was reserved for another purpose and not for first aid.
But right now, he couldn’t do anything else except this.
‘And…’
He somehow felt it.
Fran would have said that it was fate. The Essence of the Silver Moon was only available once a month, on the day when Selene and Helene’s powers were at its peak.
But today was that day, so perhaps it was really fate at work.
‘If, if you really survive…’
Velkian let go of his thoughts. He pushed the Essence of the Silver Moon into Ga?l’s mouth and stood up right away.
“Let’s go.”
He had used up the time he spared for Ga?l.
Once he rode on the Phantom Steed again, Velkian headed for the center of the royal capital with his ghost legion.
And time passed.
The that poured down from the sky lessened, and the ghostly wails of the ghost legion faded away.
A low groan leaked out of Adelia’s mouth. Although she had yet to regain her consciousness, her breathing gradually stabilized.
And next to Adelia, Ga?l still didn’t move.
His body was still cold.
But at some point.
It was the time when the barrier covering the royal capital suddenly weakened.
Ripples began deep inside Ga?l’s soul.