Saturday, September 30, 2023

King Returned with Gods : Chapter 46

 

The Knight King Who Returned with Gods : Chapter 46

Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain

 

 

 

Episode 46 God of War and Flame

 

 

 

The morning of the scheduled attack.

 

When Androzin heard that the demons had been defeated on the first day of their attack wave, he flew into a rage.

 

"What?! They fled without even trying to fight?!"

 

It also hadn't occurred to him that they'd saw the castle be destroyed on the first day of their attack. In the script of the repetitive history, the battle would continue for the next five days before the castle would finally fall.

 

But this was the first time they had been crushed without even a pretense of a fight. In a hundred years, in 95 iterations of history, there had never been a more humiliating defeat.

 

"You cowards!"

 

Androzin's eight halberds danced, dismembered bodies darting up one after another.

 

-Keeeeeeeeeeeeee!

 

The demons dismembered by Androzin's halberds were not ejected into the spirit realm, but their souls were absorbed by the blood-stained halberds, which caused incessant screams.

 

Pathetic things.

 

Androzin pitied his subordinates who had died during the night.

 

They were specialized warriors, among the demons of pleasure, as they gained pleasure through pain.

 

And yet, by the end of the night, they were as good as dead. Leon's surprise attack was to blame.

 

In all of history, he was the first madman to storm out of the castle and hunted the demons himself.

 

What could the madman possibly want so badly that he would abandon the safety of the castle to pursue the demons?

 

Androzin didn't know.

 

He didn't know that the all-nighter demon hunt was a stress reliever for Leon, who had a terrible anxiety attack at the mere presence of demons.

 

Just as he was scolding his subordinates and trying to reassemble them─

 

"Wha-?"

 

Androzin's eyes widened. The fields and forests full of vegetation suddenly lost their vitality and died.

 

Although, technically, it had returned to 'the way it was'.

 

And this can only mean one thing.

 

"The Queen's dream (illusion)... is broken?"

 

This world was a world built on evil. A place where any man or woman can be corrupted by the Queen.

 

Repeating her dream, the essence of corruption transformed her into a demon of pleasure.

 

Endless despair was required for this, and the remaining five years were the final step in bringing her to her knees in certainty.

 

The dream (illusion) that was originally supposed to destroyed only after the Queen's fall was forcibly broken?

 

Something had happened. Androzin grew impatient.

 

"Damn it! The Queen is supposed to be reborn as the Lord of Pleasure!"

 

That was the order of the current Supreme Archdemon of Pleasure.

 

Androzin led his troops and headed straight for the castle. There was little time to gather all the forces, but time was running out.

 

Reynald and the Jewel of Wisdom watched on. Reynald whispered cautiously,

 

"Shouldn't... you go help?"

 

[I'm not going, though?]

 

You little shit.

 

Raynald struggled to swallow those words.

 

* * * *

 

Leon, Gu Dae-sung, and Yappy slapped the sleepy hunters to wake them up and walked straight out of the castle.

 

The hunters were dumbfounded when they awoke to find the interior of the castle in ruins.

 

“W-What? What happened?”

 

"We... we went underground and... what happened?"

 

Leon doesn't bother to fill the hunters in on the details. Because right now, responding to this rapidly changing situation was an urgent priority.

 

"Demons!"

 

"Demons have entered the castle!"

 

The demons, meanwhile, were already over the gates and swarming inside. It was a rapid turn of events that the hunters couldn't comprehend.

 

"Damn it, where did the soldiers on the walls go?"

 

"S- so many of them!"

 

Gu Dae-sung shouted to the disoriented hunters,

 

"Raise your shields...!"

 

The hunters reacted instinctively to the command.

 

Clatter, clatter, clatter, the shields stacked up mechanically. The phalanx that was completed in an instant welcomed the demons.

 

-Kill them!

 

-Destroy!

 

The demons of pleasure charged, stripped of clothes and bare. Their fighting strength was not great. But demons of pleasure flourish in numbers.

 

The mass hitting from the front alone exceeded a hundred.

 

"They're a lot...!"

 

The hunters withstood the impact of the crashing demons and plunged their swords through the gaps in the shields.

 

-Kii!

 

-Kgkk!

 

The lower-level demons were easily defeated by the hunters' swords.

 

Terror of the Demonic Race

Most Accomplished Demon Slayer

Demon Lord Slayer

 

These three buff traits amplify the hunters' damage to the higher-level demons. Their strikes gain anti-demon qualities, and the demons around them become weakened.

 

Adding to that was the Aura of Lion's Heart . The hunters' defense was solid.

 

-Kiiek!

 

'They're coming from the back!'

 

At the other end. Chief Kim Jin-soo, holding his shield, felt hopelessly defeated by the demons coming around them.

 

Being encircled was a matter of seconds. It would take a short time to be finished off.

 

'And yet, no one is moving!'

 

Even he, a B-class tanker of the Association, was getting nervous. How could these D-class hunters remain calm and invulnerable?

 

The reason was the presence of the Holy Knights.

 

-Exterminate enemies. Arming up.

 

The minimalistic machine guns were shooting a rainstorm. That was not all. Steel wires imbued with holy power whip by at unrecognizable speeds.

 

"Ki...?"

 

"Keh?"

 

They didn't know what had passed through their torsos, but when they did, they perceived a neatly sliced section of their body sliding away.

 

Leon's side was the most gruesome. The demons pissed themselves just by being glared by him, and their eardrums ruptured at the sound of his roar.

 

Two Holy Grail Knights covered both sides of the formation. The blows they unleashed were more powerful than all the combined sword strikes of the D-Class hunters.

 

-Hiig...!

 

-Demon Butcher...!

 

-Center, center, center!

 

The demons chose to swarm around the outnumbered hunters.

 

They would rather die in the battle and escape to the spirit realm than be cut to pieces by the Grail Knights on the left and right and have their souls grinded to dust.

 

"Kuh...!"

 

"Why is it so heavy...!"

 

This increased the burden on the hunters. Chief Kim Jin-soo shouted.

 

"<Shield of Protector>!"

 

It was Chief Kim's unique skill, Shield of Protector. A skill that temporarily increased the defense of the entire team by 20%.

 

Normally, it was a skill that would only benefit tankers, but this group of Hunters were supposed to be bad tankers.

 

Yet the hunters endured with sturdy stance thanks to their strengthened defense.

 

But as if to spell the end for them, Androzin yelled from the rear,

 

"Go! Revel in the pleasure of pain!"

 

Androzin's crown glowed with a great dark light. The demons' eyes strained grotesquely as they were exposed to the crown's light. In the most common language.. they lost themselves.

 

"Kihihi...!"

 

"Kyahahahahaha!"

 

The demons screamed and charged. They throw themselves at the shields and don't care if their torso was pierced.

 

They threw themselves with glee, as if the pain had become pleasure.

It was overwhelming. The shield was so heavy that Gu Dae-sung wanted to toss it right then and there, but he didn't. The hunters also didn't move from their positions.

 

[A soldier's virtue is to be good at a single thing. Put all your strength into blocking, and the Knights will take care of the rest.]

 

The King commanded them only one thing:

 

Stand your ground and keep the enemy at bay.

 

And the knights will crush them.

 

'As long as we hold on... !'

 

'His Majesty will do something about it!'

 

They believed in the knights. They believe in the Lionheart. The soldiers hang on, hang on, and gazed at their King's back as he galloped to triumph.

 

"Let's go, Stallion!"

 

Behold, that strong back.

 

His Majesty the Lionheart will see this through. Just like he always has.

 

"Huh?"

 

Leon disappeared from the hunters' field of vision. The endless black tide of demons had swallowed Leon, who was alone.

 

The hope faded.

 

And the black waves filled their eyes.

 

* * * * *

 

Many.

 

Leon swung his holy sword without hesitation at the swarm of evil that filled the space before him.

 

Five demons screamed at the single blow. But others quickly took their place.

 

The demons showed no sign of fear. Their bloodshot eyes were wild and delirious.

 

This was a technique the Archdemons of Pleasure had used many times before.

 

It transforms the pain of the horde into pleasure and turns them into pleasure-seeking maniacs.

 

Demons of pleasure were weak in combat, but with buffs like this, they can be quite a nuisance.

 

'Insufficient damage.'

 

The enemy was simply too many. Androzin himself had come to lead the army. The final confrontation was supposed to be on the last day of the attack.

 

But was pushed forward when the Queen's illusion from her dream was shattered.

 

'Can I do it?'

 

'If only I have the Grail Knights with me... or at least the Royal Army...'

 

'But what can I do by lamenting on something that isn't here?'

 

Leon had always fought alone. For one hundred and eighty years, he'd been fighting a war against demons. It was a matter of life and death for all the demons and for Leon.

 

But there was a difference between then and now.

 

Back then, the land was filled with divinity.

 

There was faith in the gods, holy power, and the support of all the gods from the beginning of human history.

 

But not now.

 

'There is a lack of faith, and all I have is my body.'

 

'The holy laws I have honored so many times can only be used once or twice at most, and my holy sword and holy lance have been stripped of their full brilliance.'

 

'Can I do it?'

 

"No! I have to do it!"

 

Leon's sword radiated a blinding light. Layers of light cut through the demons.

 

'For the sake of the soldiers who watched his back, for the sake of the gods to whom I would give glory and honor.'

 

'Even if I am alone, I must do it.'

 

That was why he was the Lionheart King, the sole apostle of the gods.

 

"For the Lionheart--!!!"

 

It was then. Leon's sword struck. A black, magical blade flew through the air. Leon's holy sword deflected it, but the rebounded blade slashed at Stallion's throat.

 

"Stallion...!"

 

Leon stumbled to the ground as Stallion collapsed from the blow. The summoned Grail quickly began to heal Stallion, but the wound was not easily mended.

 

The Knight's tumble was an opportunity for the horde of demons. A wave of demons surged forward and tried to crush Leon.

 

-Charge──!

 

Masses collided. The moment of impact, a combination of acceleration and weight, was a moment of pure spectacle.

 

The demons were sent flying with a boom, and at the lead was the Death Knight Ricardo Byrnes.

 

"Great General."

 

"King Lionheart."

 

Those knights who slit their own throats in their glory days turned into undead who roam the land. The Queen's Royal Knights, loyal to her even in death, had left her side and were here.

 

What does it mean?

 

“Have you knights woken up from your dream?”

 

"Our loyalty to Her Majesty the Queen remains the same.”

 

"As it should be."

 

"But... if you can make a difference......."

 

They put a bet on him. Leon smirked.

 

He had long been a symbol of hope.

 

Even when the world was being ravaged by demons, even when the gods took refuge in his very heart.

 

And now, even the hunters and the Queen's loyal knights.

 

"Then I must prove it. I'll live up to the expectations."

 

As he had always done.

 

To the stars, against all odds.

 

"O God of War and Flame, please answer my call!"

 

And answer they do.

 

The divinity spoke in a strong voice with no need for any altar, no shrine, only the passion of gallantry itself to provide.

 

[Still, you play a loss-making role; they are but flickering flames that could snuff out at any moment without you.]

 

"Then I will stand before them forever, until the day comes when they are able to stand on their own."

 

Stallion dissipated. The white divine spirit wept in disgrace at being sent back without being able to keep watch over his sworn ally.

 

"Thank you, my friend. You may rest."

 

Leon turned to look at the 38 knights who were now shielding him, keeping the demons at bay. From their midst, the Lionheart King shouted,

 

"I am Lionheart, the proud greatest cavalryman of Pethos, the god of war and flame!"

 

At the loud shout, the demons writhed in pain, and the soldiers and knights became more aware of Leon's presence.

 

"O War! O Flame, thy greatest cavalryman calls upon thy flame of war, here and now...!"

 

Each syllable, each word, carried unbending honor and weight. The God of War and Flame responded to that clear request.

 

In an instant, skin-searing heat and roar shook the battlefield with vibrations.

 

The demons, knights, hunters... all eyes turned to the heart of the blaze. In the center of the divine flames, where demons were extinguished at the slightest touch, stood holy beings of a density far beyond common sense.

 

Fire-breathing bulls.

 

The divine beasts that exuded violent and ferocious energy were beings outside the standards of human comprehension, far beyond all measure.

 

A giant war chariot drawn by two such bulls. Leon climbed aboard and gripped the reins. He bellowed,

 

"I, Leon Dragonia Lionheart, take command of the Queen's most faithful knights!"

 

Thirty-eight knights. Deathknights with swords and spears, fell into a formation at the rear of the war chariot, as the terrorized demons backed away from them.

 

"You are the proud sword of the Spero Kingdom and the shield of the Queen!"

 

“I have been entrusted with the noble task of punishing evil.”

 

"Knights of honor! Be the flame that purifies evil!"

 

The fiery flames of war ignited the blades of the Death Knights.

 

The flames that burned and purified the unholy recognized them as pure.

 

"Follow me."

 

Leon pointed his lance.

 

The lead is always his.

 

"Then we shall win."

 

***

 

 

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